Question

As you read this excerpt from the novel David Copperfield, identify the narrator’s point of view, and think about the role that point of view plays in developing the main characters.

'Peggotty,' says I, suddenly, 'were you ever married?'

'Lord, Master Davy,' replied Peggotty. 'What's put marriage in your head?'

She answered with such a start, that it quite awoke me. And then she stopped in her work, and
looked at me, with her needle drawn out to its thread's length.

'But WERE you ever married, Peggotty?' says I. 'You are a very handsome woman, an't you?'

I thought her in a different style from my mother, certainly; but of another school of beauty, I
considered her a perfect example. There was a red velvet footstool in the best parlour, on which
my mother had painted a nosegay. The ground-work of that stool, and Peggotty's complexion
appeared to me to be one and the same thing. The stool was smooth, and Peggotty was rough,
but that made no difference.


How does the narrator’s point of view affect a reader's understanding of other characters like Peggotty?

The old man’s point of view shows readers how they should feel about the characters.

The child’s point of view helps readers understand what drives all of the characters.

The child's point of view limits how well readers understand the complexities of other characters.

The old man's point of view reveals the characters as they truly are.

Answer 1

The correct choice is:
"The child's point of view limits how well readers understand the complexities of other characters."

Explanation: the passage is narrated from young David’s immediate, first‑person perspective. His perceptions are simple, concrete and sometimes naive (e.g. comparing Peggotty’s complexion to a painted footstool, bluntly asking if she was married). That limited, childlike viewpoint gives vivid impressions but misses deeper motives and histories, so readers see characters as David sees them rather than as fully rounded people.