Perspective

=Perspective / Point of View= ====Point of view (also known as narrative perspective) is the vantage point from which a story is presented. In other words, who appears to be telling the story, and how far can that narrative voice be trusted?====

There are three different types of perspective:
A story that is told from the point of view from "I". "I" is usually the character in the story who best serves the author's overall purpose. He/she can be the protagonist, a participant, or an observer. Because readers are privy to the narrator's thoughts, feelings, and opinions, authors often use first person narratives when they wish for readers to develop a connection with the narrator. The narrator's limited knowledge also makes first person narrative suitable for mystery stories. Since narrators are recounting stories from their own limited point of view, the objectivity and credibility of their narrative must always be questioned.
 * __First person__**

The narrator uses personal pronouns such as "I" and "my" in order to express an opinion: that India always changes people. The second sentence demonstrates the limited knowledge of the first person narrator ("as far as I can follow it"). It also highlights the bias the narrator may have: we know the story is as much the narrator's story as Olivia's.
 * Ex**: "India always changes people, and I have been no exception. But this is not my story, it is Olivia's as far as I can follow it"- page 2 of //Heat and Dust//

A story that is presented as though the readers are in it by using the second-person prononun "you". Authors use second-person narrative in order to convey immediacy; it is written in present tense. It is also the least commonly used point of view.
 * __Second person__**

A story that is presented from the outside by using the pronouns "he, she, it" and "they". In other words, the narrator is not a character in the story. Third person narrative can be further divided into third-person omniscient, third-person limited, and third-person objective.
 * __Third person__**

In third-person omniscient perspective, the narrator is "all-knowing"; the narrator is capable of telling everything including the events in a story, and the thoughts of every character. The narrator can also make analytical and evaluative judgements (subjective). Third-person omniscient is most commonly used in short-stories and novels because it provides the greatest flexibility to the author. Authors often use third-person omniscient narratives when they want to change viewpoints between characters instantly or when they want to give information to the readers that only a few, or none of the characters know; this perspective allows for dramatic irony.
 * Third-person omniscient**

In third-person limited perspective, the narration is limited to what is known, seen, and thought by one character, usually the protagonist. In this way, third-person limited perspective is similar to that of first-person perspective. Because it is written using third-person pronouns however, third-person limited narrative seems more objective and is more distant from the character than first-person narrative. Heat and Dust// is unique in that it switches from first person to third-person limited (where the first person becomes the third-person limited narrator). Although the third-person limited narrator is actually a character in the novel, she is not a character within Olivia's story and thus fulfills the third person perspective's requirements. In the above quote, from "he must have felt", we can see that the narrator is limited to Olivia's point of view; she can only guess what the Nawab feels. In the second sentence of the quote, the narrator tells us the thoughts and feelings that runs through Olivia's mind.
 * Third-person limited**
 * Ex:** "He must have felt that she was trying to remove her hand from his heart so he held it against him tighter. She could not escape him now, even if she wanted to" - page 137 of //Heat and Dust

A third-person objective narrator presents everything as a witness to an event. In other words, the narrator recounts events in a non-biased (objective) manner without including thoughts or feelings. Authors use third-person objective narrative when they are deliberately trying to be unbiased and credible, like in newspaper articles.
 * Third-person objective** (//Also known as "fly on the wall" or "camera lens" technique)//