M4: Modes of Narration

From third-person authorial narration to stream of consciousness, from external focalization to internal focalization. The following sentences all communicate the same information, but they differ significantly in the way this information is conveyed.

1. On each line, write down the mode of narration the way it is done in a).

1. John Miller had lived on the farm all his lfe. He was a descendant of Puritan settlers who had arrived in Cape Cod on the Mayflower and who had established themselves in Rhode Island. John was aware of his family’s history, yet it didn’t fill him with pride and he was altogether an unhappy man. He wanted to leave the farm and move to town. He expected life there to be much more exciting.

   mode of narration:

   third-person authorial narration, external focalization, no direct or indirect speech or thought

2. John Miller told his friends that he wanted to leave the farm and move to town. Life there, he said with a thrill of anticipation, would be much more exciting.

   mode of narration: ________________________________________________________________________

3. Maybe his friends had always known that he would some day get tired of life in the country. But for him it wasn’t easy to accept this. Yet he had to leave the farm and move to town. Life there – especially the bars, yeah, the bars - would definitely be much more exciting.

   mode of narration: ________________________________________________________________________

4. He had to get away, there was no doubt about it. I have to leave soon, tomorrow, today. Life there will be much more exciting, so much more.

   mode of narration: ________________________________________________________________________

5. He had to get away, had to leave. To town. Exciting places, bars. The animals, Brad, right. The sooner the better. When exactly? Tomorrow? Next week?

   mode of narration: _________________________________________________________________________

2. Describe the effect the different modes have on the distance between John Miller and the reader.

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