Highlight clues that reveal the point of view of the narrative.

Question

She looked into the room of students and felt butterflies in her stomach. Twenty pairs of eyes stared back at her. "Great," she thought to herself. "How am I ever going to make it through the rest of the year when I don't know a soul?"

What kind of narration is used in the passage?

first person
third-person omniscient
third-person limited

Answer 1

The passage uses third-person limited narration.

Clues that reveal this point of view include:

1. The use of "she looked" and "she felt" indicates a third-person perspective, as the narrator is not a character in the story but is observing the character ("she").
2. The inner thoughts of the character are presented through "Great," she thought to herself," which provides insight into her feelings and mindset, but we only see the thoughts of this one character. This is characteristic of third-person limited narration.
3. There is no access to the thoughts or feelings of any of the other characters in the room; we only know what the central character is thinking and feeling.

These elements confirm that the narrative is told from a third-person limited perspective.