First-Person and Third-Person Narrators
This section delves deeper into the characteristics and effects of different narrative perspectives, focusing on first-person and third-person narrators.
First-Person Narrator
The ich-erzähler (first-person narrator) is described as ideal for portraying internal processes, feelings, and conflicts of the protagonist. This perspective allows readers to experience the story directly, creating a sense of authenticity.
Highlight: First-person narration often creates a strong emotional connection between the reader and the protagonist, as it provides direct access to the character's thoughts and feelings.
Third-Person Narrator
The guide distinguishes between two types of third-person narrators:
-
Auktorialer erzähler (Omniscient narrator): This narrator knows everything about the characters' thoughts, feelings, and backgrounds. They can provide information from outside the story and maintain the same distance from events as the reader.
-
Limited narrator: This perspective tells the story from the outside but is limited to the feelings or opinions of a particular character.
Example: A third-person limited narration might state, "The dog catcher was waiting right around the corner," providing information from an external perspective but potentially limited to what a specific character knows or observes.
The text emphasizes that the choice of narrator can significantly impact the reader's experience and interpretation of the story.
Vocabulary: Erzählverhalten refers to the narrative behavior or style, which encompasses the narrator's tone, level of involvement, and relationship to the characters and events in the story.
The guide also touches on language use in narratives, mentioning formal and informal language, colloquialisms, and the use of questions and exclamations. It highlights the importance of word choice in creating atmosphere and mood.
Definition: Erzählperspektive innen- und außensicht refers to the internal and external perspectives in narration, where the narrator can either delve into characters' thoughts (internal) or describe events from an outside viewpoint (external).