Name: ____________________________
Point of View Worksheet 11

Directions: determine from which perspective the passage is narrated. If it is third-person, circle each time characters' thoughts or feelings are narrated. Explain your answers in the box.

Viewpoints: first-person, second-person, third-person objective, third-person limited, and third-person omniscient.

1. The wind was strong enough to blow leaves off the trees. A boy was walking down a blacktop path lined with oaks. The red and brown leaves fell through the air with each gust. The boy dribbled a ball down the path. "Behind you!" shouted a man on a bike. The boy dribbled the ball off the path and avoided the biker. "Sorry," shouted the biker as he sped away. The boy sighed and continued walking down the path, dribbling the ball.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

2. The sun may have been 90 million miles away, but it felt like it was right on top of me, weighing me down. There wasn't a lick of shade anywhere. Not so much as a flower to hide behind. The plains were barren and sweltering. A dust cloud whipped by me. I pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose, stretching out the neck hole. The shirt was baggier than I remembered it, or I was losing weight. Come to think of it, I felt a little lankier than usual.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

3. It was a foggy night. A dog was barking loudly in a back alley. Empty wooden pallets and discarded boxes were scattered across the ground. The dog continued barking. A man with a large mustache and a chef hat opened a large metal door facing the alley. "Ok! Ok! Quiet down. I hear you." The dog stopped barking and started hopping in circles. The mustachioed man smiled and threw a few large bones to the dog.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

4. "Cannonball!" Julio shouted as he leapt from the pool deck. The splash was so large that some of the sunbathers got wet. "Wow, Julio, that was a big splash." I said to him after he emerged from the water. He smiled and nodded. Julio had been my best friend since the first grade, but lately something had gotten between us. Or, rather, someone had gotten between us. "When's Tori coming?" Julio asked. I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "She'll get here when she gets here."

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

5. Ursula looked at herself in the mirror. She thought that the dress fit her very well. She turned to the saleswoman. The saleswoman thought that the dress did not fit Ursula, but she had learned a long time ago to be careful when telling a customer that a dress was too small for them. Ursula asked the saleswoman, "Well? What do you think?" The saleswoman nodded, put up her thumbs, and said, "It looks stunning, my lady." This response made Ursula feel good.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

6. King Lenny surveyed his court. He liked what he saw. The court was lined with his loyal followers, all of them hanging on his every word. "The king is the thing today, Jeoffrey," King Lenny said to his servant. Jeoffrey chuckled and said, "Today and every day, sire." King Lenny laughed and took off his gloves. He hated wearing gloves when he was holding court. All of the complaining and the tight gloves made his palms too sweaty. "Bring in the first petitioner," said King Lenny. He wanted to finish the boring part of his day.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

7. The birds and squirrels gathered before me in the park. They were hungry and recognized me as a source of food. Unfortunately for them I had eaten my whole lunch earlier and didn't have any bread crusts or leftover pretzels to give them. I shrugged and said, "Sorry guys. I've got nothing for you," but that only seemed to make them angry. Suddenly, the squirrels all started coming together. They were standing on top of each other and forming a giant meta-squirrel. I started to run.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

8. A man in a trench coat walked into a bank. A few of the tellers looked up at him as he entered, but they soon resumed their tasks. He waited in line behind an old man and a lady with a small dog. The old man walked to the counter with a jar of pennies, poured them on the counter, and began counting them slowly, "1, 2, 3..." The man in the trench coat groaned loudly, and then reached in his coat and pulled out magazine. He started reading the magazine.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: 

9. "Sir, we don't stay open all night. I have a family too. Let's all go home," says the security guard at the library. You know that he is talking to you, but you don't really acknowledge his words. You are lost in thought. "Sir! Hello? Sir! The library is closing. Last call to check out books!" That one motivates you. You shut the text that you are reading and carry the wobbly pile of dusty manuals to the counter. The librarian does not seemed too pleased to serve you. "Sir, we closed two minutes ago. I should send you off..." she snarls at you with a thick cloud of attitude.

Narrator's Perspective: _________________________________________________________________ 

Explain how you know: