How many narrative voices are there

Your email address will not be published. Close Menu Start Login. Start your Novel. What is a narrator? The narrator is the character whose point of view frames the entire story. Tags narration , writing infographic. Great job. Hi, could you share where Ursula K Le Guin shared her ideas on narrators? We must also choose how to convey the topic to the reader. In a moment, we'll work through three types of narration: first person, second person, and third person. Each serves its own purpose. But, before we enjoy some examples of narration, it's important to distinguish between a narrative and narration.

The two terms are often interchanged, but they don't mean exactly the same thing. A narrative is a story. It recounts a series of events that have taken place. We see this a lot in narrative essays. These essays are telling a story in order to drive a point home. Narration, however, is the act of telling a story. Narration is like the voiceover. Consider your favorite documentary. If you're a nature buff, you'll come to love the way David Attenborough narrates his films.

We see this in major motion picture too. Fight Club and Forrest Gump are great examples of movies with narration. With that in mind, let's discuss the various forms of narration and enjoy a few samples. As a writer, you can choose to tell a story any way you'd like. This is known as point of view.

There are three popular forms:. Choosing how to tell your story is almost as important as the story itself. Do you want to write from the perspective of a single character, like the protagonist? If so, you'll probably use a lot of "I," "me," and "mine. Let's enjoy a few samples of each form and see which one stands out the most to you. First person narration allows you to "get personal" with your audience.

It's as if one of the characters is speaking directly to his or her audience; we're able to listen in on their thoughts. The audience will understand how the narrator is feeling and how he or she interprets the events taking place around them.

Let's take a look at a few samples of this form. The Catcher in the Rye will go down in history as one of the most intriguing stories of all time. It uses first person narration to relay some of the teenage angst most of us experience. Here's a glimpse at how the main character, Holden, feels:. Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep.

Pencey Prep is this school that's in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. You probably heard of it. You've probably seen the ads, anyway. They advertise in about a thousand magazines, always showing some hotshot guy on a horse jumping over a fence.

It's worth mentioning the concept of reliable versus unreliable narration at this point. Some might say Holden Caulfield is not a reliable narrator because he's far from objective.

He seems increasingly jaded about the world around him. You'll note a lot of sarcasm with underlying waves of anger in his retelling of the story of his life. Turns out spoiler alert he's retelling these events from a mental facility, making his recounting utterly unreliable.

Others would most likely have a different version of the events Holden lays out. Given the title, you'd think Sherlock Holmes was told from Holmes' perspective. Arthur Conan Doyle chose a different approach. Holmes' sidekick, Dr. John Watson, is actually the one engaging in first person narration. This is an interesting technique also employed by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby.

We don't hear the story from Gatsby himself, but rather his friend and narrator Nick. He turned to take the rudder, pushing away the thoughts that crawled like ants into his mind.

Third person omniscient The story is being told by a voice who shows they know more than the characters in the story — the narrator is all knowing. George watched as the boat sank.

Six miles away a group of fishermen watched the horizon, looking for signs of the storm they could feel in the air. When thinking about narrative voice, think about the following: How does the reader feel about the narrator?

Does the reader trust the narrator? Do they seem reliable? Is the voice of the narrator the author or someone else? How does the narrator choose to show us this fictional world? A character within the story is telling the story.