Point of View

Point of view is one of the elements of prose. Point of view defined as the perspective of the story. It means
that how the author shows the characters of the story. Every story has point of view to make the readers easy
to understand and imagine the story.

 In generally, there are 3 types of Point of View :

1. First person
When you read a story and the story using “I” to shows the character, it means that the story
using first person point of view. Except I, we can use the first person pronoun like me, my, mine,
myself, we and us. Author using the first person as alternative to second and third person. First person
usually is the main character and protagonist. Also with this point of view readers can feel or thought
like the characters directly.
 First person peripheral
In this point of view, it stills using I but it different with the first person before. If the first
person is the main character, but in here it just a supporting character from the story.
2. Second person
In this second person point of view, they are using “you” to describe or show the character. In the
story, we rarely see the second person. But in poems, persuasive articles, and speechs we see usually.
Why? Because it is so difficult to make a second person in the story and also the author do not have an
idea or experience to write it.
3. Third person
Third person is the story that using third person pronoun like she/he, him,his,her,and hers to
describe all of the characters in the story. The advantage of this point of view is that we can tell
everything about the character in the story as if the narrator was in the sky and watching all of the
events. Although, when we use the third person, often author can not know what the character
thought.
There are three types in the third person:
a. Omniscient third person
From the point of view of the all knowing third person, the writer will talk about anything
related to the main character. He seemed to know well about the characters, thoughts,
feelings, and events. The narrator is like a person who really-really know about the character
that he told. Except using he/she, him/his ,her/hers, it also using a name from the character.
b. Limited third person
In this point of view, the author describes everything that is experienced by a character
only limited to one person or in a very limited number. The author is not free to move from
one character to others characters. It just only one or two character.
c. Objective third person
In this point of view, the author describes all of the character’s action in the story but
never express what the character thinks and feels. The author can only guess what is the
thought and felt by the character of the story.
 The analysis of point of view in the story about the coward:
The story about the coward is using third person point of view. Because the story using a named of the
character and also using “He” to describe the character. Example in paragraph 1, line 1 : “Society called him
handsome Signoles. His name was Viscount Gotran-Joseph de Signoles. He had a good figure and a good
carriage, a sufficent flow of words to pass for wit,a certain natural grace, an air of nobility and pride, a gallant
moustache and an eloquent eye, attributes which women like”.