Posted by Eric Abraham on October 12, 2007 at 12:33:00 from 63.245.162.246 user EricAbraham.
In Reply to: Re: Third person posted by Pam Adams on October 11, 2007 at 15:27:17:
When I was reading all these great stories in first person, I didn't feel confused, just excited that I was sharing the narrator's experiences - I felt like I was actually the person telling the story. That is probably why I got in trouble with "Huckleberry Finn", I felt like I was Huck Finn and phantasized more adventures! True, third person allows multiple trains of thought, but one person's thoughts are not explored as heavily as one person telling it like he experienced the activity.
In my opinion, "Huckleberry Finn" is an excellent example of first person - and Mr. Clemens wrote several other fictional accounts in first person. "Life on the Mississippi" being, of course, his own nonfictional autobiographical tale.
I think Huck Finn conveyed extremely well the emotions and thoughts (as he understood them) of the other characters in the book.
If I remember correctly, wasn't "Swiss Family Robinson" written in first person - sort of as a diary? It seems that this was an acceptable method of conveying a story and making it more personal - like the author is actually telling a group his tale around the intimacy of the winter fireplace and the reader is a part of this priviliged gathering!
Eric Abraham - Living in the First Person in Kansas ---