Skip to main content

POV in "Of Mice and Men" (extra)


Point of View:

Of Mice and Men


  • Who is the narrator in the story?
The narrator is a limited third person omniscient one.  We are told where the characters are going and why, but we are not always told the explicit thoughts of the characters, instead it is described.  

  • Is there only one narrator?
There is only one narrator.

  • What is the point of view of the work?
The point of view is an exterior, objective one.  The narrator does not give his opinion.

  • How is the reader’s engagement in the story affected by the point of view?
Although we are immersed in their world with vivid descriptions (see post about style), we are clearly just an exterior observer.  The narration doesn't try to tell us how we should feel, it lets us think for ourselves. 


This differs slightly from the film, as it, in comparison, uses many tricks to immerse the viewer into the story.  However, this distance comes back in the final scene (when George shoots Lenny) as we are not explicitly told how to feel or react (see post about visual aspects for more detail on the film).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Visual Aspects of "Of Mice and Men"

The Visual Elements of the Film Adaptation of: Of Mice and Men 1. Ca mera movement/Framing: Two techniques are used in the film to immerse the viewer in story.  The first is the use of hand-held camera.  These are used sparingly as they are not to disorient the viewer (unlike in thriller or action movies), but to create the illusion of being a part of the film.  When the characters are crouching in a river to hide at the beginning of the movie, the hand-held camera used, along with its height (placement), imitate the point of view of a person; the slight shakiness of the frame mimics the shakiness a person crouching in a river would have; the height at which the camera is placed is at eye level.  The second technique is obstructing the shot.  Using elements of the environment, whether it's a tree branch or a door frame, the shots are partially blocked, as if we are an observer present at the scene and not a viewer watching the work of a professional camer...
Post a Comment
Read more

Poetry of Louis Dudek

Who is Louis Dudek?   He is a professor at McGill a poet, an academic and a publisher. Who is Dr. Bernhard Beutler?   He is a german doctor that studied Louis Dudek's work in his doctorate on imagism in Canadian poetry. How did the interviewer, Frank Bonkowski, come to meet Dr. Beutler?   He was a student at the Goethe Institut in the 1970s. Why is it worthwhile reading poetry?   It is the highest form of art, it is imaginative and it liberates the soul. What kind of poetry did Louis Dudek write?   Realist lyric poetry influenced by the Imagists with a style that doesn't use a lot of adverbs and adjectives.  The city is sometimes the setting. What happened the first time Dr. Beutler met Dudek?   He asked his where he was and said he was at McGill, he then asked to meet him halfway.  He was very direct. What did Leonard Cohen say about Dudek?   He said that Louis Dudek was one of the greatest professors at McGill, he was sweet, gen...
Post a Comment
Read more