Some texts use multiple narrators to show how one event holds different meanings for different people. In “Three Views of a Wedding”, an aunt, a groom and a photographer each notice something different: grief, belonging and the truth hidden in “the moment in between”.
Multiple perspectives create dramatic irony, because the reader knows more than any single character. They also invite us to compare voices, reliability and what each narrator values.
Notice where perspectives meet. A single image, such as the bride touching her aunt's beads, can unite all the viewpoints and reveal the text's central idea.
Worked example
Why might a writer end a multi-voice story with a short section that has no narrator?
- The earlier sections are private and personal.
- A narrator-free ending steps back to the public celebration.
Answer:To show the world carrying on around the private feelings the narrators revealed.
Key words
- multiple narration
- a story told by several narrators
- dramatic irony
- when the reader knows more than characters
- reliability
- how far a narrator can be trusted
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: RL.11-12.3, RL.11-12.5