Read these two passages. Can you tell which narrative is omniscient –v- limited. What words/phrases create the omniscient voice?
She noticed them immediately. Old habits died hard, and her eyes tracked the movement on the road even before her mind registered approaching danger five men striding with the swagger of warriors. The only outward sign of her alarm was the tightening of her grip on the knife as she stripped a dead twig from the branch of the olive tree. There was no point in running. The men had seen her, and if she was their target they would catch her sooner or later. Sooner, she thought ruefully, remembering that her legs were not so limber as they once had been. Drawing a deep breath, she spoke as calmly as she could.
"Lyceus, I want you to take those olives to your mother, now." The young boy at her side looked down at the basket he carried and hefted its weight. He could tell it was more than half empty. "But Aunt Gabrielle, we've barely begun."
"It's enough," she said, more curtly than she had intended. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the warriors step off the road and enter the far edge of the orchard. Softening her tone of voice, she spoke again, "I'm too tired to do any more work today. Run along now, before I change my mind."
With a grin of delight, Lyceus turned to dash away, then froze.
"Auntie...those men..." He was young, but no fool, and his instincts were sharp, if less experienced than hers.
"Lyceus," she commanded softly. "Do as I say. Don't look back at them. Run."
As you can see, the reader is privy to the opnions/feelings of both Gabrielle and her nephew. As the cast of characters grows, the omniscient viewpoint allows the reader some glimpses into their thoughts as well. Anything that happens in this world can be described because the narrator is all-knowing, all-seeing. The disadvantage to this point of view is that the reader may feel emotionally removed from the storyline — the narrator reveals a little about every character, so it becomes harder to strongly identify with any one person. In fact, if the writer isn't careful, the shifts in viewpoint from one character to another can leave the reader dizzy.
Xena drove the head of the shovel deep into the loose dirt, then heaved the load up and over, dropping it into the pit by her feet. She steeled herself for the soft thudding sounds the dirt and clumps of grass made when they fell on the heaps below. Another stab with the shovel and she could feel sweat break out on her brow. That was a bad sign. The morning air was cool and she hadn't been digging that long.
"I wish you'd let me help," came a voice from over her shoulder.
"Gabrielle, I told you to stay back." She couldn't spare enough breath to adequately convey her anger. Another bad sign. She wiped her brow with the back of her hand, then went back to her task. The next load of dirt seemed a lot heavier than the others.
Time passed, marked only by the steady rise and fall of her shovel.
"Xena..." Gabrielle's voice sounded closer than it had before. "It's got to be safe for me by now. These are the last of the dead and they're nearly buried."
"Stay away!" snapped the warrior, careful to keep her back turned to her friend. A sudden wave of heat swept through Xena's limbs. Its passage robbed her of the strength to hold the shovel. She could feel her body sway, as if buffeted by the fire that raged inside her.
"Xena!"
"Stay...back," she cried out, but her voice was parched to a dry whisper.
The reader is aware of everything Xena is thinking and feeling, but Gabrielle's actions remain a mystery because Xena is not even looking at her. Using this perspective allows a writer to keep their own prose style, and to interpret and comment on the character's behavior, while still offering depth of emotion. The same restricted perspective should be used consistently throughout a scene, but new scenes or chapters can start with a different character's restricted viewpoint.
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." Maya Angelou
25 comments:
well mr b you gave the answer so i dont think its very hard to find the answer
LIVESTRONG
GO SOX
For the omniscient writing project, could 2 of the different people's thoughts be Britain and America, because they aren't people, they are a group of people, so I didn't know if that would count.Thanks
ASAP!!!!
Maddie
no maddie...stick to real(invented people) e.g. loyalists and patriots. it will be much easier to do it this way than to talk about countries or colonies...
But could you do it????
Eg:
The americans/british thought pizza was good, but the british thought pizza was bad and banned citizens from eating it.
Does that work??????
Maybe if that actually happened, Sarah.
Thanks Mr. B.
Also, about how many bullet points should we have for each category on the mind map, because I have about a page, to try to fit on one note card, so it isn't as wide, but I think that may be a little to big, but i dont know.
ASAP,
Maddie
i mean the bullet points aren't as wide as a page. It only takes up like 3/4 of the page. (width)
no.. weak... better if you talk name of a person.. you can then say if they were loyalists or patriots
so our hw is Lesson 4.4 and work on writing
Abigail
Abigail- Yes and if you want to you can start studying for our test on thursday.
so if u just made up an fake person's name like eg. Billy Bob, would u talk about his feelings along with about 1 more person like Tiny Tim, who is a patriot and Billy bob who is a loyalist, or should you use real people names like Samuel Adams and Mercy Otis Warren???
I have a question. In class you said the boston tea party was before the boston massacre but i think it was a misunderstanding because the text book says it is the other way around. Is that true or am i just wrong?
U probably just heard Mr.B wrong because the textbook is a reliable source.
For the American Revolution essay, I don't really get the 3rd person omniscient so what would be the highest grade you would give for 3rd person limited.
Caroline,
It is if you can get into someone's mind, and almost know what they are thinking, along with everybody else's thoughts. It is not just your thoughts.
what is our homework in MATH?????
Flynn
What are the topics for the Revolutionary War assay?
Flynn- cumalative review (sorry i probably spelled it wrong)
P.S. Two B.B.I.C
ABIGAIL
Abbie....... That means you can do anyone?????????
Flynn
You can do any P. S. TWO. B. B. I. C. topic. Also I am massively confused about the omniscient thing so typing this draft is very difficult can someone help?
juli
Yes i know...me too ..... i guess just write and have him look over it tomorrow because our final draft is due friday and our 1 draft is due tomorrow!!!!!!
Flynn
PLEASE PLEASE READ! AND PLEASE TELL ME IF IT IS BAD OR GOOD AND WHAT TO DO BETTER!!!!!!!!!!
The Boston Tea Party
Furiously, the people of Boston spoke and protested in shock and fuming madness! How dare the King tax what the colonies drank, obsessed over! The patriot men met together to make a plan. They had had it, taxing sugar, stamps, and now tea! A Tea Tax?! To them, it was a crime paying for what you had daily almost everywhere you went! That just was not right! The livid men got dressed in deer skin, feathers, and paint to look like a Mohawk Indians. Richard was determined, nervous, and anxious. Paint was slathered on his face to keep his identity safe. It was the night of December 16th 1773, no holding back now. With the other men, he was going to storm the boat in rage but keep quiet while doing it. As the feather from his headset stuck up, they snuck in the boat holding the tea imported from Great Britain. And with anger and bravery they hopped on the boat, ran to the barrels holding the tea, and threw back their arm as hard as they could and crashed on top of the barrel with hammers. The wood fell into pieces of what looked like mulch, flying everywhere! Gripping it tightly, he turned upside down and dumped the tea into the harbor! To dump, break, and waste the tea from the British felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders! They sprinted home as fast as they could. He was proud, conceited of what he was… Richard Clarke, a Son of Liberty. But when dawn broke and when the British came out, what they didn’t see coming was the consequences heading their way…
McCarthy,
Remember its just our first draft tomorrow!
Can anyone tell me when the vocab things are due? It says Friday on the Homework Sheet
caroline- vocab in our book friday and in our war packet 2morrow
Hello everyone this is Catie. Please read my narrative about the Boston Tea Party and give me your opinion... Thanks!
The Boston Tea Party
“The most exciting party in the history of time”
Catie Sappenfield
The holly swayed violently in the late night breeze. Bright lights flickered on and off every passing second in the gloomy looking terrace houses. The three tattered British tea ships, the Eleanor, the Beaver, and the Dartmouth, bounced back and fourth suddenly like grand, old rocking horses. A dense, muggy mist crept up just above the rocky surface of the dead silent street, Old Wayside Avenue. Jet black, smoke could barely be detected as it ever so slowly rose into the dark midnight sky.
On the near freezing night of December 16, 1773, cool, rolling waves punched the three tattered ships. Shinning through the fluffy clouds, the moon beamed blissfully down as the quiet-as- mice colonists disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians. “Rally Mohawks! Bring out your axes and tell King George, we’ll pay no taxes!” Samuel Adams joyfully smiled as he fantasized all the money he and his crew had cost Britain; while a man named Richard Wade was meaningfully pondering where his loyalties lay.” Hurry up man! Gather a box of tea and cast it over!” shouted Adams to Richard. A biting northeast wind blew, raising the adrenaline in the colonists’ eager body. Richard Wade depicts he should be loyal to his king, but another man named Paul Revere inspired him to protest because Revere visualizes freedom from an unlawful parliament and King. The brave Sons of Liberty were starting what is now known as the Boston Tea Party. Rushing to the Eleanor’s rustic bow, Richard Wade then straightened his shoulders and stood up tall like a proud patriot. “Boston Harbor, a teapot tonight,” screamed Richard B. Wade as loud as he could possibly manage. Crate after heavy crate of expensive British tea was dumping off the old Eleanor’s bow and crashing into the vast Boston Harbor. Steel axes were raised and goldish-brown wood boxes were splintering open and being scornfully dumped into the murky water. As this event was occurring, King George ||| imagined precious tea being dumped into the pitiful Boston Harbor, while the colonists dreamed of the king turning red with anger. After the British king’s main flames of fire died out, he and the British Parliament were hastily planning revenge. To think of all possible punishments was exhausting; from executing the men who took place in this event to putting more taxes on items would all be possibilities. Finally, a challenging decision was made and the Intolerable Acts were passed. Not only do these Acts state that a young soldier must be given food and lodging if told, but it also states that the Boston Harbor is closed off. This triumphant day is when sweet revenge and British tea clashed together, forming the occasion remembered as the Boston Tea Party. That is why this event remains as the most exciting “party” in the history of time.
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