Question

The Doe
1
Beep… beep… BEEP! An arm reaches out and presses the alarm clock’s off button.

2
“Okay, okay, I’m up,” grumbles 15-year-old Maggie.

3
She throws back the blanket and descends the stairs to the kitchen. It’s a Thursday. Earlier in the week, she hopped down the stairs two at a time, like a hare, but today she’s more like a tortoise.

4
As soon as she has some cereal and milk in her favorite bowl, Maggie plunks herself in front of the computer in the living room to check and respond to her e-mail messages. There are 12 new ones since she checked her inbox at nine o’clock last night. She responds to each of them quickly, acknowledging a few silly but funny jokes, and also confirming her intentions to run for president of the student council, play on the basketball team, and help out with an upcoming fundraiser.

5
“Maggie!” her mother says loudly from the adjoining room. From the slightly annoyed tone of her voice, it is clear it probably isn’t the first time she has spoken.

6
“Yes, sorry Mom. I was busy.”

7
“I said, the bus will be here any minute. You better get going.”

8
“Okay, Mom.”

9
Maggie looks down and sees that most of the cereal is still in the bowl, now slightly mushy instead of crunchy and crisp. After hurriedly eating a few more spoonfuls, she empties the bowl and places it in the sink.

10
Just as Maggie is about to pull the heavy oak door shut behind her, her mother speaks to her from the hallway. Her arms are folded, and she is wearing a slightly worried expression.

11
“I love that you’re interested in so many things, Maggie, but sometimes I get a little concerned about you. You’re trying to do too much, don’t you think?”

12
“Don’t worry, Mom, I’m fine,” Maggie says, softly closing the door after blowing her mother a kiss.

13
As she makes her way to the bus stop, though, she wonders whether that is 100 percent true. Lately, it seems as though she is racing through life, staring at a computer screen and frantically typing messages, or else sprinting from one activity to the next. But life is supposed to be busy, right? Getting things done, accomplishing things—that is what it is all about.

14
Sensing a tiny flutter of movement from the corner of her eye, Maggie slows her pace and turns her head slightly to the right. At first she sees nothing of interest in the large, snow-covered park. Then, a small movement again attracts her attention. There, in the middle of the white field, is a deer.

15
Her head tells her to keep walking, that she might miss her bus if she doesn’t hurry. If she is early, she can use any extra time to do some advance planning for the fundraiser.

16
Her feet don’t obey her, though. Maggie stops completely, giving all of her attention to the beautiful animal. She holds her breath, scared that the tiniest noise might scare it off. Its eyes and nose are the color of coal, its ears raised and alert. It seems to be looking directly at her. After just a few seconds, it turns and hops gracefully through the fluffy drifts, its white tail bouncing as it disappears from sight. Reluctantly, Maggie continues walking, but now she wears a tiny smile as she pictures the doe, the first one she has ever seen in nature with her own two eyes.

Maggie looking at a doe in a field.

17
Maggie arrives at the bus stop just as the large yellow vehicle is pulling up to the curb. Finding an empty seat, she scoots in next to the window. Maggie spends the entire drive with her forehead pressed against the cool glass, observing how the snow has collected on the tops of branches and admiring the rows of shiny icicles hanging from rooftops.

18
When the sight outside the window changes to the brick exterior of the school, Maggie feels ready to face the day. Grabbing her backpack and stepping off the bus, she realizes that those few moments on the sidewalk and the short minutes in the bus had been the best part of her entire week.

Which phrase best describes the point of view used for "The Doe"?

A.
a first-person narrator offering only Maggie's thoughts

B.
a third-person narrator that offers many characters’ thoughts

C.
two separate first-person narrators, offering the thoughts of each

D.
a third-person narrator limited to one character’s thoughts

Answer 1

D. a third-person narrator limited to one character’s thoughts

The story uses third-person pronouns ("she," "Maggie") and gives access to Maggie’s inner thoughts and feelings, but it does not present other characters’ internal perspectives.