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Difficulty: HardNarrative Techniques and Point of View

Read the passage below:

"Mama's voice echoed from the kitchen—crisp, demanding, relentless—while outside, rain drummed against the rusted zinc roof. Obinna stared at the sealed envelope on the mahogany table, his chest tightening. How could he tell her that the scholarship was a phantom, a mistake of bureaucracy? Years later, standing before the supreme court bench, he would look back on this silent afternoon as the moment his path severed from her grand designs."

Which of the following best identifies the narrative point of view and narrative device used in the passage?

  1. Third-person limited point of view with prolepsis (flash-forward)Answer
  2. B
    First-person point of view with stream of consciousness
  3. C
    Third-person omniscient point of view with analepsis (flashback)
  4. D
    Second-person point of view with interior monologue

Answer

Third-person limited point of view with prolepsis (flash-forward)
The passage employs a third-person limited perspective because the narrator refers to the protagonist using third-person pronouns ('he', 'his') while remaining focalized tightly within Obinna's inner thoughts and feelings. Furthermore, the narrative leaps forward in time to project Obinna's future position at the supreme court bench, which is an example of prolepsis (flash-forward).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the grammatical person and focalization of the narrator.
The narrative uses third-person pronouns ('he', 'his', 'her') and restricts internal focalization strictly to Obinna's feelings and thoughts, establishing a third-person limited perspective.
Point of view is identified by the pronoun scheme and the scope of internal access to characters' minds.
2
Analyze temporal manipulation in the narrative structure.
The phrase 'Years later, standing before the supreme court bench, he would look back...' shifts the temporal frame forward into the future, which is prolepsis (flash-forward).
Prolepsis represents a scene or event taking place in the future relative to the current narrative timeline.

Key Concept

Identifying Narrative Perspective and Temporal Devices (Prolepsis/Flash-forward)
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Topics

Narrative Techniques and Point of View

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