Point of View in Fairy Tales

Point of View in Art

• In art it’s the angle of view from which a person sees the picture or scene.

• Let’s look at a photograph to determine “angle of view.”

What is beyond the

green tree in the

foreground?

New Angles in Photographs

• Point of view in a story is like the angle of a photograph.

• A different angle in a picture gives us a new way of thinking about it.

Point of View in Literature

• In literature point of view is the angle which a reader connects to the story—usually by the person who tells the story.

• In Cendrillon, we know the person telling the story is Nannin, Cendrillon’s godmother.

The Person Telling the Story

• Having a character relate the events makes a story more personal and helps the reader feel involved.

• Cendrillon’s godmother can only see things from her own understanding.

• For instance, she doesn’t know Cendrillon’s thoughts, but she can tell what Cendrillon’s feelings are from her actions and words.

What Happens When Point of View Changes?

• What if the wicked stepmum, Madame Prosperine, tells the story?

• What if Paul tells the story?

Other Point of View Choices

• How would the story change if a distant, all-knowing narrator told the story? This person is called a 3rd person narrator.

• What if you are the “I” person telling the story? How will the story change? This person is called the 1st person narrator.

You Decide!

• Would Cendrillon be a better fairy tale if another character told the story?

• Think about this as you choose the next Cinderella fairy tale to read.