Third-person narrative
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- For more details on this topic, see Point of view (literature).
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[edit] Third person, limited
This style of narrator is similar to the first person narrator, but the character is not the narrator. The narrator is disembodied. It does nothing, casts no judgments, expresses no opinions and has no physical form in or out of the story. This narrator is privy to the thoughts, feelings, and memories of the protagonist, but of no other characters.
For example, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce, the narrative is limited to the experiences of Stephen Dedalus.
A way to think of the third person narrator is as a camera peering over the shoulder of the protagonist, recording what transpires for the reader. This point of view is very similar to the first person point of view, but it allows information in a way not possible in the first person. This narrator can present details encountered, but not noticed by the protagonist. It can make observations that the protagonist would never make about himself, like the color of his eyes, or his personal failings. Any such details made by the narrator about itself would be highly dubious, but when given by the third person narrator, should be trusted. The narrator doesn't make blatant judgments; some subjective observations can seep in, but if the reader ever doubts or disagrees with the judgments of the narrator, she will dismiss the work as a whole. The third person narrator is inherently trustworthy.
Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow remains in third person throughout, but at various times, it is third-person limited inside the mind of a particular character, and not always a sane one. For example, in one chapter, we have an extremely unreliable third-person narrator describing an entire ship that is somehow the "toilet" of the German Navy; the effective point of view is that of minor character Horst Achtfaden, locked in the toilet of a ship and going crazy.
[edit] Third person, omniscient/dramatic
An omniscient narrator, as in more limited third-person forms, is also disembodied; it takes no actions and has no physical form in or out of the story. But, being omniscient, it witnesses all events, even some that no characters witness. The omniscient narrator is privy to all things past, present and future - as well as the thoughts of all characters. As such, an omniscient narrator offers the reader a birds-eye view about the story. The story can focus on any character at any time and on events where there is no character. The third-person omniscient narrator is usually the most reliable narrator; however, the omniscient narrator may offer judgments and express opinions on the behavior of the characters. This was common in the 19th century, as seen in the works of Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy or George Eliot. In some unusual cases, the reliability and impartiality of the narrator may be in question.
[edit] Third person, objective
The author doesn't enter a single mind, but instead records what can be seen and heard. This type of narrator is like a camera or a fly on the wall. This is used by journalists in articles—it only gives the facts, from one fixed perspective.
