Author's Point of View and Cultural Context

Learning Objectives:

  • Identify the author's point of view in a reading.
  • Identify the cultural context of a reading.

LESSON
When you read a textWords that make up a book, essay, article, poem, or speech. and try to understand its meaning, you must consider various items, including the topicThe subject of a reading. and purposeThe reason the writer is writing about a topic. It is what the writer wants the reader to know, feel, or do after reading the work. of the piece. Two additional items that are also important to consider are the authorA person who wrote a text.'s point of viewThe perspective from which an author considers a subject or issue. and the cultural contextInformation about the setting, time, place, community, customs, and beliefs that surround a writing. Thinking about the cultural context helps readers understand what is happening and why. of the readingA piece of writing to be read. A reading can either be a full work (i.e., a book) or partial (i.e., a passage)..

Point of View
Point of view refers to the perspectiveThe point of view from which an author considers a subject or issue. used by the writer in a storyA description of fictional events that tells how something happened with a beginning, middle, and end., articleA non-fiction, often informative writing that forms a part of a publication, such as a magazine or newspaper., or essayA short piece of writing that focuses on at least one main idea. Some essays are also focused on the author's unique point of view, making them personal or autobiographical, while others are focused on a particular literary, scientific, or political subject. . It lets the reader know who is telling the story or making the argument. Point of view can be broken down into three types: first personA narration style where the writer uses personal pronouns such as I, me, and we. This point of view is often taken when a writer chooses to share personal information or experiences. Example: It took me years to get used to the sounds of the city at night; I couldn't sleep with the police sirens blaring at all hours., second personA narration style where the writer uses pronouns such as you and yours. This point of view is often taken when a writer wishes to directly address or instruct the audience. Example: It could take you years to get used to the sounds of the city at night; you might have trouble sleeping with the police sirens blaring at all hours., and third personA narration style where the writer uses pronouns such as he, she, one, it, they. This point of view is often used in academic or professional writings. Example: Some people find that it takes years to get used to the sounds of the city at night; they often have trouble sleeping with the police sirens blaring at all hours.. Each type has its own perspective about the events within the writing.

First-Person Point of View
In the first-person point of view, the writer uses the word I when writing. You, as the reader, get to read the story from the perspective of one person—the narratorThe "voice" of the person who is telling a story. Sometimes the narrator is the author, other times it is a character within the work.. When the narrator shares his or her thoughts of what is happening, he or she has a limited point of view because that story is coming only from that person's perspective. First person is usually used in autobiographicalA form of writing where the author writes a story about his or her own life and experiences. or other personal writing, such as a journal.

Second-Person Point of View
In the second-person point of view, the writer uses the pronounsA part of speech that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. Examples include: I, he, you, they. you or your, which generally refer to the reader. It is most often used for instruction manuals and lessons, such as this course, where the writer directly refers to the reader. An author may also choose to write in a second-person point of view to purposely draw the reader into the story. Although it is not seen as often as first- or third-person, second-person point of view can be a very effective type of writing when the writer has a specific purpose in mind.

Third-Person Point of View
Finally, in the third-person point of view, the writer uses the pronouns he, she, it, and/or they and can write from either an omniscient (all knowing) perspective or from a limited perspective. Using third-person omniscientA narration style where the narrator knows everything about the story and all its characters, including their thoughts, feelings, and motives. This is also called the "God's eye" perspective., the writer takes on the "God's eye" perspective and shares information about all characters and all the action taking place. The third-person limitedA narration style where the narrator only knows one character's thoughts about the story and is told from that perspective. point of view follows the perspective of one person. As a reader, you know you are reading third-person omniscient when the writer lets you know what is going on inside the mind of multiple characters in the text. In third-person limited, the writer lets you inside the mind of only one character. Most formal academic writing is written in the third person.

Cultural Context
The cultural context of a text helps the reader understand what is happening and why. It is made of up several factors including setting/location, background, cultures, beliefs, and community. Each of these items affects how a reader looks at and understands what is happening in that text.

For example, to understand the plotThe main idea and events of a story, specifically, how major and minor supporting details are structured and how events lead to changes in characters. of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader must think about where the story is taking place (setting/location), when the story is taking place (year/time), who is involved (the characters), and what values and beliefs those characters have. The setting of the book is in the racially divided Deep South of the United States during the Great Depression in the 1930's. The main character, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is also a widowed father of two children. Mr. Finch is called upon to defend an African-American man who is accused of raping a white woman. Knowing the cultural context of the book makes the plot and what Mr. Finch is doing all the more significant, given how African-Americans were viewed and treated at that time and place. In this way, cultural context becomes just as important to understanding the plot of the novel as is knowing about the characters and from what point of view the story is being told.

Note: Keep in mind that your instructor may have a different approach to the information in this lesson. Please be sure to follow your instructor's directions if they differ from the provided information.

+ PRACTICAL APPLICATION+ EXAMPLE+ YOUR TURN+ METACOGNITIVE QUESTIONS