[originaltext] Literature provides a lens through which readers look at the

Literature provides a lens through which readers look at the world. Point of view is the way the author allows you to "see" and "hear" what’s going on. Skillful authors can fix their readers’ attention on exactly the detail, opinion, or emotion the author wants to emphasize. Point of view comes in three varieties, which the English scholars have handily numbered for your convenience: First-person point of view is in use when a character narrates the story with I-me-my-mine in his or her speech.(16)The advantage of this point of view is that you get to hear the thoughts of the narrator and see clearly the world depicted in the story. However, remember that no narrator, like no human being, has complete knowledge of anything. Therefore, the reader’s role is to go beyond what the narrator says. Second-person point of view, in which the author uses you and your, is rare. Authors seldom speak directly to the reader. The author has made a daring choice, probably with a specific purpose in mind.(17)Most times, second-person point of view draws the reader into the story, almost making the reader a participant in the action. Third-person point of view is that of an outsider looking at the action.(18)In some works, the writers make the thoughts of every character open to the reader. In other works, the reader enters only one character’s mind, either throughout the entire work or in a specific section. By understanding the three different kinds of point of view, readers can better appreciate the beauty of literature works.
16. What advantage does the first-person point of view have?
17. What special effect does the second-person point of view have?
18. What can readers do with the help of the third-person point of view?