Chapter 1
Fundamentals of Critical Thinking and Essay Preparation
Course: Gre
Subject: Gre Analytical Writing
Chapter: Enhancing Style Tone And Rhetorical Persuasion
Introduction: The Narrator's Relationship to the Story
Every story must be told from somewhere. The perspective from which a narrative unfolds shapes everything readers understand, feel, and imagine. This perspective—the relationship between the narrator and the story—is called point of view.
Consider how differently a story might feel if told by a character within the action versus an observer watching from outside. Imagine receiving direct instructions from a narrator versus being placed directly into a character's consciousness. These distinctions matter profoundly because point of view determines what readers know, when they know it, and how they connect to the events and characters described.
This lesson explores the three primary points of view in writing: first person, second person, and third person—including the subcategories of third person limited and third person omniscient.