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Difficulty: MediumNarrative Techniques and Point of View

Read the passage below carefully:

"Bisi stared out of the window, wondering if her brother would ever forgive her for revealing his secret to their father. Inside the dimly lit study, Chief Femi sat quietly, wrestling with his own feelings of betrayal and anger, though he maintained a stoic expression. Neither realized that outside the doorway, Kemi was listening, harboring her own secret satisfaction at the unraveling family drama."

Which narrative point of view is employed in the passage above?

  1. A
    First-person point of view
  2. Third-person omniscient point of viewAnswer
  3. C
    Third-person limited point of view
  4. D
    Second-person point of view

Answer

Third-person omniscient point of view
The correct answer is third-person omniscient point of view because the narrator operates from an all-knowing perspective, revealing the unspoken internal thoughts, feelings, and motives of three separate characters (Bisi's guilt, Chief Femi's feeling of betrayal, and Kemi's secret satisfaction) within the excerpt.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the pronouns used by the narrator to recount the narrative.
The text consistently uses third-person pronouns ('she', 'he', 'her', 'his') and character names ('Bisi', 'Chief Femi', 'Kemi'), establishing a third-person narrative stance.
Determining pronoun usage separates first-person ('I/we') from third-person perspectives.
2
Analyze the extent of the narrator's access to character consciousness.
The narrator reveals Bisi's inner thoughts ('wondering if her brother would ever forgive her'), Chief Femi's internal conflict ('wrestling with his own feelings'), and Kemi's secret emotion ('harboring her own secret satisfaction').
Evaluating internal access determines whether the third-person voice is limited (one character's mind) or omniscient (multiple characters' minds).
3
Synthesize the findings to determine the precise narrative point of view.
Because an all-knowing narrator reports the hidden thoughts of multiple characters within a single scene, the point of view is third-person omniscient.
Simultaneous internal access to more than one character defines the omniscient perspective.

Key Concept

Third-Person Omniscient Narrative Point of View
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Topics

Narrative Techniques and Point of View

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