0:00:14.026,0:00:16.496 “I am an invisible man.” 0:00:16.496,0:00:20.728 “Mrs. Dalloway said she would [br]buy the flowers herself.” 0:00:20.728,0:00:24.777 “You are about to begin reading [br]Italo Calvino's new novel.” 0:00:26.370,0:00:30.742 These three opening lines, [br]from Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man," 0:00:30.742,0:00:32.762 Virginia Woolf’s "Mrs. Dalloway," 0:00:32.762,0:00:36.562 and Italo Calvino’s [br]"If on a winter’s night a traveler," 0:00:36.562,0:00:39.682 each establish a different point of view. 0:00:39.682,0:00:42.892 Who is telling a story, [br]and from what perspective, 0:00:42.892,0:00:46.412 are some of the most important choices [br]an author makes. 0:00:46.412,0:00:50.544 Told from a different point of view, [br]a story can transform completely. 0:00:52.504,0:00:54.360 Take this fairytale: 0:00:54.360,0:00:59.820 "Rapunzel, Rapunzel,"[br]the Prince called, "let down your hair." 0:00:59.820,0:01:03.350 Rapunzel unbraided her hair [br]and slung it out the window. 0:01:03.350,0:01:06.420 The prince climbed her tresses [br]into the tower. 0:01:06.420,0:01:11.064 Rapunzel is typically told like this, [br]with the narrator outside the story. 0:01:11.064,0:01:14.164 This point of view is called third person. 0:01:14.164,0:01:18.044 But Rapunzel can also be told [br]by a character in the story— 0:01:18.044,0:01:19.854 a first person narrator. 0:01:19.854,0:01:23.284 The tail end of Rapunzel’s locks [br]plopped down at my feet. 0:01:23.284,0:01:26.614 I grabbed on and began to climb… ugh! 0:01:26.614,0:01:28.694 I couldn’t untangle myself. 0:01:28.694,0:01:32.404 Strands came off all over me, [br]sticking to my sweat. 0:01:32.404,0:01:36.460 In a first person narrative, the story [br]can change dramatically 0:01:36.460,0:01:40.636 depending on which character[br]is the narrator. 0:01:40.636,0:01:44.366 Say Rapunzel was narrating [br]instead of the prince: 0:01:44.366,0:01:51.255 I hope he appreciates how long it takes [br]to unbraid 25 feet of hair, I thought. 0:01:51.255,0:01:56.212 OUCH! I'll be honest; I thought my scalp[br]would stretch off of my skull. 0:01:56.212,0:02:00.212 "Can you climb any faster?" I yelled. 0:02:00.212,0:02:04.801 In second person, the narrator addresses [br]the story to the reader: 0:02:04.801,0:02:09.892 He calls your name. He wants you [br]to let your hair down. 0:02:09.892,0:02:14.350 You just finished braiding it, but hey–[br]you don't get a lot of visitors. 0:02:14.350,0:02:18.230 Third person, first person, [br]and second person perspectives 0:02:18.230,0:02:21.740 each have unique possibilities[br]and constraints. 0:02:21.740,0:02:25.740 So how do you choose a point [br]of view for your story? 0:02:25.740,0:02:28.400 Constraints aren’t necessarily [br]a bad thing— 0:02:28.400,0:02:32.946 they can help focus a story [br]or highlight certain elements. 0:02:32.946,0:02:34.106 For example, 0:02:34.106,0:02:39.024 a third person narrator is necessarily[br]a bit removed from the characters. 0:02:39.024,0:02:43.156 But that can be good for stories [br]where a feeling of distance is important. 0:02:43.156,0:02:46.636 A third person narrator [br]can be either limited, 0:02:46.636,0:02:50.516 meaning they stick close to one [br]character’s thoughts and feelings, 0:02:50.516,0:02:54.446 or they can be omniscient, [br]able to flit between characters’ minds 0:02:54.446,0:02:57.295 and give the reader more information. 0:02:57.295,0:03:02.170 A first person story creates closeness [br]between the reader and the narrator. 0:03:02.170,0:03:05.480 It’s also restricted [br]by the narrator’s knowledge. 0:03:05.480,0:03:07.010 This can create suspense 0:03:07.010,0:03:10.920 as the reader finds out information[br]along with the character. 0:03:10.920,0:03:13.180 A first person narrator [br]doesn’t necessarily 0:03:13.180,0:03:16.340 have to represent the character’s [br]experience faithfully— 0:03:16.340,0:03:19.360 they can be delusional or dishonest. 0:03:19.360,0:03:22.744 In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel [br]"The Remains of the Day," 0:03:22.744,0:03:29.292 Stevens, an aging British butler in 1956, [br]recounts his many years of service, 0:03:29.292,0:03:33.292 but fails to acknowledge the flaws [br]of the man he serves. 0:03:33.292,0:03:37.042 The cracks in his narrative eventually [br]draw the reader’s attention 0:03:37.042,0:03:41.025 to the under-acknowledged failings [br]of the culture and class system 0:03:41.025,0:03:42.625 he inhabits. 0:03:42.625,0:03:45.595 Justin Torres’s novel, "We the Animals," 0:03:45.595,0:03:48.895 begins with a plural [br]first person narrator: 0:03:48.895,0:03:52.705 “We were six snatching hands, [br]six stomping feet; 0:03:52.705,0:03:58.542 we were brothers, boys, three little kings[br]locked in a feud for more.” 0:03:58.542,0:04:01.587 Partway through the story, [br]the point of view shifts 0:04:01.587,0:04:06.577 to first person singular,[br]from we to I, as the boys come of age 0:04:06.577,0:04:10.677 and one brother feels alienated[br]from the others. 0:04:10.677,0:04:13.697 Second person is a less common choice. 0:04:13.697,0:04:18.511 It requires the writer to make the reader[br]suspend disbelief to become another “you.” 0:04:18.511,0:04:21.201 Placing the reader [br]in a character’s perspective 0:04:21.201,0:04:23.621 can build urgency and suspense. 0:04:23.621,0:04:24.791 Sometimes, though, 0:04:24.791,0:04:28.937 second person is intended to distance [br]the narrator from their own story, 0:04:28.937,0:04:31.677 rather than bring the reader closer [br]to the story. 0:04:31.677,0:04:32.807 In these cases, 0:04:32.807,0:04:37.881 second person narrators refer [br]to themselves as “you” rather than “I.” 0:04:37.881,0:04:43.082 Writers are constantly experimenting [br]with fresh variations on point of view. 0:04:43.082,0:04:46.150 New virtual and augmented [br]reality technologies 0:04:46.150,0:04:49.730 may expand the possibilities[br]for this experimentation. 0:04:49.730,0:04:53.730 By placing people at a particular [br]vantage point in virtual space, 0:04:53.730,0:04:57.590 how might we change the way [br]we tell and experience stories?