The Long Night
by Steve Vance
This passage tells the story of a security guard named Bobby. He is watching over a group of people who are sleeping during a six month experiment in space.
As you read, pay attention to the perspective of the narrator of the passage.
Bobby had never liked sleeping with the lights on, and the bright fluorescent overhead bulbs of the hospital experiment room worried their way through his eyelids to drag him awake. He coughed and grunted, shaking his head and wondering just where in the world he was, since this clearly wasn’t his bedroom. He looked at the clock on the wall. It was only a little past one in the morning.
Great, he thought, what do I do now?
It seemed peculiarly quiet in the room, with no sound except the soft breathing of his family. Bobby almost felt as if he were the last person alive on Earth, the only remaining human being. A shudder ran through him. Was this what he faced for the next six months? Being the only one awake while everyone else slept through the experiment?
Probably. But somewhere deep inside, he also welcomed the chance to sort of “keep an eye on things” while everybody else slept through the experiment. It just didn’t seem right to leave the whole world unattended, and though he realized how lonely it would be, he understood that someone had to do the job. Right now, he was hungry.
After slipping on his shoes and shirt, he wandered out of the room to look for the snack bar. He had enough change for a candy bar and soda, and when that ran out, well, he doubted that the rest of the world would be too upset if the only conscious security guard borrowed what he needed to eat from the vast stock of canned foods that had been put aside as the Sleep approached. There would be a few self-regulating power plants operating throughout the year, so he wouldn’t have to worry about electricity for cooking or watching videos or keeping out the darkness as the hundred and eighty nights crept along. And, of course, he could always use his scout training should he need to cook anything over an open fire.
Bobby was munching on a chocolate bar when the first weird and tremendous noises broke through the stillness of the night with such power that he was almost knocked from his feet. It sounded like a gigantic piece of chalk screaming across a blackboard the size of Minnesota. The piercing screech reached right into his skull to shake his brain. He dropped the candy bar and raced for the nearest elevator. Since the sounds seemed to be coming from high overhead, he stabbed the button for the roof parking area.
When Bobby stepped out onto the rooftop beneath the wide, star-sprinkled night sky, his eyes met a sight that he couldn’t have imagined before that moment. From one horizon to the other, great glowing red fountains of radiance, each one emitted by a spacecraft, were raining down upon the sleeping and helpless world with a Fourth of July brilliance.
Just as suddenly, a voice began to speak within Bobby’s mind. The words weren’t English, but his brain understood them just the same.
“THE OPERATION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL. WE HAVE REACHED OUR TARGET AND MET WITH NO RESISTANCE. LONG LIVE THE MIGHTY EMPIRE OF THE SEVEN SYSTEMS! Which of the following is true about a third-person limited narrator?
The narrator describes how every character feels.
The narrator describes only their own personal feelings.
The narrator describes how one specific character feels.
The narrator shifts between multiple characters’ feelings.
3 answers
In the passage you provided, the correct statement about a third-person limited narrator is:
The narrator describes how one specific character feels.
In this case, the narrator primarily conveys Bobby's thoughts and feelings, providing insight into his experiences and perspectives while excluding the inner feelings of other characters (such as the people sleeping). This aligns with the definition of a third-person limited point of view.
The sentence that most clearly shows a third-person limited perspective with a focus on Bobby is:
“Bobby almost felt as if he were the last person alive on Earth, the only remaining human being.”
This sentence highlights Bobby's internal thoughts and feelings, illustrating that the narrator is closely aligned with his perspective and experience. It emphasizes his personal sense of isolation, which is a hallmark of third-person limited narration.
