Back to the full dot-point answer
SingaporeEnglish LiteratureQuick questions
Reading Prose Fiction
Quick questions on Narrative point of view explained: O-Level Literature in English
4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is point of view controls what we know?Show answer
The narrator decides what information reaches us. A first-person narrator can only report what they witness, so the writer can hide things by choosing a narrator who does not know them, creating suspense or surprise. An omniscient narrator can reveal a character's secret thoughts while another character remains in the dark, which is how prose creates dramatic irony. When you analyse, ask what this point of view lets us see, and what it hides.
What is q1?Show answer
What is the main limitation of a first-person narrator, and how can a writer use it? [2 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
How can an omniscient narrator create dramatic irony? [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Why is it a mistake to treat a first-person narrator as simply telling the truth? [3 marks]
Have a question we have not covered?
This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.