Narrative Perspective, modes of presentation

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with the narrator -tells the story (from) inside the action → visible) Function: The reader follows the course of events though the eyes of the central character who tells his/her story in the first person. In this way the reader experiences the story with a great deal of immediacy and it constantly informed about the protagonist's thoughts and feelings. Not surprisingly, the reader is emotionally strongly involved and very likely to identify with the narrator (identification figure). The perspective is clearly limited; the description may be one-sided and to some extent subjective. third-person narrator: -is not a character in the story → not part of the story -refers to the characters in the story with personal pronouns (as "she", "he" or "they") or by their names Englischklausur third-person omniscient narrator: unlimited point of view -knows everything about the characters thoughts and feelings as well as the backgrounds story -can enter the minds of characters at will [nach Belieben] →can look inside their minds -can comment on the events/on the action or character's behavior -knows how the plot will develop → can switch between places and times (refer to past events through flashbacks or foreshadow future developments/actions) -tells the story (from) outside the action → not visible Function: The advantage of this point of view is the reader's access to the characters' feelings and thoughts. The reader gets comprehensive characterisations and interpretations. If the narrator is overly intrusive with his/her comments and evaluation, the reader might be made a passive "consumer" of the narration without any room left for interpretation. third-person limited narrator: limited point of view -makes the reader see everything through the eyes of one character -only has insight into one character's thoughts and feelings -is not identical with the character eingeschränkt restricted to one of the character's thoughts and feelings -tells the story (from) outside the action → not visible Function: With this point of view, the narrator has decided to only inform the reader about what is going on in the mind of one or two characters. This means limited, and possibly biased/unreliable, information about the events and other characters. On the other hand, it may create sus- pense through gap-filling and encourage interpretation. in general (modes of presentation): The way the narrator narrates events is known as mode of presentation An author can use a variety of techniques to convey the narrative (attitude) [Erzählhandlung]. telling_(panoramic mode): -the narrator tells the reader what happens over a longer period of time (summarizing) -does not go into detail → without going into detail räumlich zeitlich -the author gives the impression of a spatial and temporal distance to the action (compression of time and ellipsis) → the reader feels a certain distance to the events and characters -provides an overview (of an event) showing_(scenic mode): -the narrator describes in detail what happens in a scene -dialogue is used often -the characters' (words and) action(s) are shown in dramatic scenes -conveys an intense moment vividly [vermittelt anschaulich einen intensiven Moment] -characters' feelings may also be related -depicts thoughts and emotions →(this makes) the reader feel close to the action and allows him or her to empathize with the characters in the scene -effect on immediacy [Unmittelbarkeit] direkt, persönlich stream of consciousness [Bewusstseinsstrom]: -the reader is introduced directly into a character's interior life -as the character's experiences in a situation are mixed with ideas from both the past and present that come to the character's mind as well as random associations -innerer Monolog (mit sich selber reden) →conversation with oneself