The concept of "first-person" belongs to the literature and is used in writing texts. Each of them must be composed using the narrative of a hero, if it is fiction.
How is it from the first person? What distinguishes these stories from others and how to define them? Read this article.
Face table
Stories can be of three types:
- From the first person.
- From the second person.
- From a third party.
In each, only the narrative style changes. To determine the person in whom the work is written, it is worth highlighting the most common personal pronouns: me, we, you, they, and others.
Then you can use the face table:
| Singular | Plural |
| First person | I am | we |
| Second person | you | you |
| Third person | he she it | they |
Having identified the most common personal pronouns, it is necessary to highlight the main character of the story. Is this a certain character? It is you? Is this the author himself?
- If the author himself is the narrator, then the narration is conducted in the first person. It is as if the author is sitting next to you and tells everything in a private conversation: I went, I did, I was able to and everything in that spirit.
- Second-person stories have not gained popularity, although they are quite interesting. In this case, the author addresses the audience and presents everything as if it was the reader who was taking action: you did, you go, you look, you see.
- The third-person story is the most popular and occurs most often: she was able, he said, they left.
Types of Stories
Literature may be fiction or non-fiction. Basically, first-person stories are characteristic of fiction, where the narrative comes from the name of the hero.
Non-fixation in the first person is also found, albeit much less frequently. Most often, first-person spelling in this case is in the plural: not “I”, but “we”. An example of such a story can be a laboratory journal, in which passages like "... we conducted an experiment ...", "... I made measurements ..." and the like are found.
Do not confuse them with passages like "... our group made a discovery ...", because in this case the story will be conducted from a third party. “Our group” can be replaced by “group” and then by “her”. "Our" should not confuse you. In first-person stories, only personal pronouns without pretexts matter.
Pluses of stories from different people
- If the author wants to show the maximum intensity of emotions, then he will use the story in the first person. It is as if the hero himself tells about his adventures and experiences, the reader is imbued with his story and begins to empathize. It is much easier to sympathize with someone who, even in your imagination, is sitting in front of you and telling something.
- Second-person stories have not gained much popularity. The fact is that they are too highly specialized: a man, for example, is unlikely to like to read a book in which the feminine gender is full: you did, you looked, you heard. And even if a young lady reads the story, then she may not agree with the actions of the main character. Because of this, there will be a rejection of history, hostility to it will appear, and in the end the book will be forgotten on the dustiest shelf.
- Third-person stories allow the author to view the story not only from the perspective of the main character, but also from other characters. Thanks to this, you can see the whole picture of what is happening, without remaining chained to one person.
Example stories by faces
If you still have the question “In the first person, how is this?”, Then you will find several examples of stories from different people. They will help you learn to determine in what way the text is composed.
- “My sister looked at me, blazing with discontent. I did not know what caused it, and therefore I tried to smooth it out with a faint smile. What was left for me? Just look at my sister and wait for the denouement. ”
Although there are several personal pronouns, the story is written in the first person. How was this determined? The main character is a man who talks about himself and his experiences. The emotions of his sister are incomprehensible to him.
- “You looked at your brother, trying to restrain yourself from swearing. How so? Why? How did you end up in this situation? You didn’t know, and evil looks are the only thing left for you. ”
The same situation, only the story is written in the second person. Perhaps it even seemed strange to you, since such forms of narration are unusual for us.
- “She gritted her teeth and cast a displeased look at her brother. He answered her with an apologetic smile in an attempt to calm her down. It was strange to look at each other in such a situation, but there was nothing left for them. ”
A third-person story. The emotionality of the work is lost, but both sides of the conflict are affected.