Point of View

Amanda Kom
Dr. Hepworth
ENGL 150-03 Introduction to Literature
29 January 2007
Alternative Points of View
(Third person point of view for John Updike’s “A & P”- a non participant point of view)
As Sammy stood in a slouched stance ringing in his customer’s groceries, three young and nearly naked girls walked into the store. Sammy didn’t notice until he held the HiHo crackers. But when he noticed, he froze and stared at the girls in only their bathing suits. He instantly memorized ever curve and freckle on each girl and took extra notice of the girl in a beige bathing suit that led her two friends.
The old lady that was waiting for her groceries to be checked grunted to get Sammy’s attention. Sammy instantly snapped back into reality and checked the crackers a second time. The lady snapped, “You already rang those up, are you trying to charge a poor old woman more than she already has to pay? Back in my day…”
(First person point of view for William Faulkner’s “A Rose For Emily”- an observer)
I watched all of the other town’s women in their tight, short, black dresses as we all stood over Miss Emily Grierson’s grave. They didn’t even care that she had died, they were only curious and wanted to see all of the latest news firsthand so they’d have something to gossip about later.
Most of us used to take care, in a way, of Miss Emily before she cut herself off completely. She was very stubborn and we couldn’t do anything directly for her. We left her alone and the city didn’t make her pay taxes, but I heard that caused some disagreement with the newer tax collectors. I don’t think she ever knew the kinds of sacrifices people made for her.
(Third person point of view from Eudora Welty’s “Why I live at the P.O.”- nonparticipant)
Stella-Rondo moved back to her parents house after she and her husband, Mr. Whitaker, separated. Hurt but prideful, she told her family her biased side of the story, so everyone, Mama, Papa-Daddy, and Uncle Rondo, pitied her. Everyone but her sister, who was older by one year and one day. She saw right through Stella-Rondo and despised her for being the spoiled baby of the family.
Stella-Rondo didn’t come back home by herself, but with a two year old child that she had named Shirley-T. She swore she was adopted, but she resembled Stella-Rondo and Mr. Whitaker to a tee. To keep negative attention off of herself, she framed her sister almost immediately and tried her hardest to make the family mad at her.