i really need help to review because i have a test tomorrow. PLEASE HELP ME!!! QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

Question

Leslie sat in front of Paul. She had two long, brown pigtails that reached all the way down to her waist. Paul saw those pigtails, and a terrible urge came over him. He wanted to pull a pigtail. He wanted to wrap his fist around it, feel the hair between his fingers, and just yank. He thought it would be fun to tie the pigtails together, or better yet, tie them to her chair. But most of all, he just wanted to pull one.

1) What is the narrative perspective?

2) Identify character's thoughts which are revealed?

3) Identify the author's purpose and explain your answer.

Answer 1

The answer to question 2 will help you figure out the others. When you look to find out whose thoughts are being revealed, think of who you know the most about. In this case, it's Paul. That tells you that the point of view, or narrative perspective, is related to Paul, (therefore it's not second person, which is always "you") and since when you look at the pronoun, you see no "I," it can't be first person, so it must be third person. To get more specific, though it's hard to tell from this small passage, I would say third person limited, since the reader really doesn't get much of anyone else, though there is at least one other character: Leslie. Finally, there are several purposes in writing: to inform, to explain, to persuade and to entertain being a few of the most popular. The third question is the hardest, but I believe if you can explain your answer, you'll be in good shape. Look at the author's tone, voice, and diction (word choice), and the mood of the piece. Is it tense? Is it emotional? Is it appealing to logic? Is it exaggerated or sarcastic? Those things will provide clues to what the author is trying to accomplish. For me, I would say the author's purpose is to entertain, but I think to inform or explain would also be defensible, depending on context.