Analyzing Point of View - Research Paper Example

POINT OF VIEW Short stories do not typically allow the much time to establish important literary elements. But a good will work with what he or she has. One of the most important elements in a story is the point of view. Without it, the reader is disoriented. They need to understand how to approach the story and accept the characters in the story. There are a number of types of points of view, but here I will focus on the limited omniscience point of view used in Guy Maupassant's The Necklace.

The point of view in this interesting story is consistent throughout. This is a good thing because if the point of view is not consistent the reader can be very confused. They will have a hard time understanding who knows what. This story is traditional and consistent. A little bit of the feelings of Mathilde shine through, but the narrator does not have total knowledge of her and how she feels. This point of view is appropriate to the story. This is not an experimental work where the author is trying to make the reader's head spin.

Instead this is a simple story where the author does not want the point of view to intrude or draw attention to itself. He wants the story to almost tell itself. Since this is partly a story of social mores, which are shown rather than told, it is important for the point of view to not be intrusive. There are many techniques an author can use to heighten the quality of his work. Point of view is among the most important. It can completely shape the reader's experience of the story.