Analyzing Point of View Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analyzing Point of View - Essay Example And yet, at times, the narrator uses an omniscient mode to point out certain things to the reader that are unnoticed by the characters themselves. For instance, the narrator tells us in advance about the gift that Jim has brought back for Della before she notices it herself: â€Å"For ten seconds let us regard with discreet scrutiny some inconsequential object in the other direction. [..] This dark assertion will be illuminated later on† (O Henry, 1906, p. 4). The narrator here pre-empts the next turn in the plot by forewarning the reader about an unexpected event. The narrator also uses the device of prolepsis by mentioning the magi, something that will be explained later in the conclusion. The use of a third-person point of view affects the entire tone of the story. Had the same tale been told through the perspective of Della or Jim or even one of the minor characters like the â€Å"Sofronie†, much of the situational irony would have been lost. Situational irony, like dramatic irony, is based on a shared knowledge between the writer and reader which the characters in the story are unaware of. Their situation therefore is not understood by them as well as the reader who has access to information about their lives directly from the writer.