This is on my opinions on when we should use first-person or third-person perspective.
I would use the first-person perspective when I want to develop the persona and show the story through someone's perspective, which is usually biased. For example, if I want to make a complex idea seem simple, I can have a young immature child as the narrator and I can show things through his/her eyes. This is very important as children and adults would have different experiences and maturity in thinking. Therefore, if we want to develop the character, first-person perspective would be a good choice.
Cons of using first-person perspective:
What the readers can know is very limited. Since it is written in first-person perspective, the author cannot possibly be omniscient. Therefore, if plot is an important part of the story, the author should not use the first-person perspective.
I would use the third-person perspective when I want to show a non-biased account of the whole story, and to show every detail of the story which none of the characters know everything that happens. A thrid-person perspective can be very useful when we want to develop the plot as the third-person perspective can allow the narrator to be omniscient.
Cons of using third-person perspective:
By using third-person perspective, there cannot be too much of characterisation for the main character as the author would have to show many different characters other than "I". Therefore, if characterisation is an important part of the story, the author should not use the third-person perspective.
This is my opinion on the usage of first and third person perspective. What's yours?
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ok, a good post, but i think you forgot to mention about the cons of first person and third person.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are considering a few options, we must both look at the pros and cons, therefore I think this post would be a lot better if you added both the cons.
Some suggestions:
I feel that when writing in first person, the author is restricted to a single point of view. First person therefore becomes the narrowest, most restrictive point of view because everything is seen and processed through the mind of the narrator. Therefore, it is very hard for authors because the narrator could not possibly be at all the important places at one time.
I feel that by using omniscient points of view in third person means that there are many more main characters. Therefore, together with the lack of the ability to write about the feelingsof the character, and the lack of details foreach main characters, 3rd person narratives are usually more detached from the readers.
Nicholas 2i122