Point of View Practice Exercises

Read the following study guide for a concept review:

Point of View Practice Exercises

Practice 1: Dracula

Excerpted and adapted from the book by Bram Stoker

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.

(1)

The carriage went at a hard pace straight along. Then we made a complete turn and went along another straight road. It seemed to me that we were simply going over and over the same ground again, so I took note of a landmark and found this was so. I would have liked to ask the driver what this meant, but I feared to do so. By-and-by, however, as I was curious to know how time was passing, I struck a match. By its flame, I looked at my watch. It was a few minutes until midnight.

(2)

Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road. It was a long, agonized wailing, as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, and then another and another. Borne on the wind now sighing softly through the Pass, a wild howling seemed to come from all over the country through the gloom of night. The horses began to strain and rear, but the driver quieted them down. Then, from the mountains on each side of us rose a louder, sharper howling. It was that of wolves, which affected both the horses and me in the same way.

1.	The most likely narrator of this selection is
	a.	the character who's driving the carriage.
	b.	the character who owns the horses.
	c.	the farmer whose dog is howling.
	d.	the character who's riding in the carriage.
2.	Which words in the first paragraph were clues to the point of view?
	a.	they, driver, this
	b.	we, I, my
	c.	by, how, it
	d.	it, its, this
3.	This selection is told from
	a.	a third-person point of view.
	b.	a second-person point of view.
	c.	a first-person point of view
	d.	a fourth-person point of view.

Practice 2: The Flight of Icarus

A Greek Myth Retold

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.

(1)	In ancient Greece lived Daedalus, a talented and clever builder. He created everything from palaces to playthings for the wealthy. One of his rich clients was Minos, the King of Crete, an island in the Mediterranean.
(2)	Minos was thought to be the richest and most powerful ruler of his time. He hired Daedalus to design and build a special, intricate maze, or labyrinth, to hold the Minotaur. It was a terrifying half-bull, half-human creature with a great appetite for humans. Minos wanted the creature confined somewhere in the maze so that it couldn't escape and be a threat to his people.
(3)	Daedalus designed a masterful, mysterious maze, and his young son Icarus helped him create it. When the maze was finished, Minos had his soldiers release the Minotaur into it. But Minos worried that someone might find a way through the maze to release the creature. He had to make sure no one else ever knew the secret of the maze. So, to guarantee that Daedalus or Icarus could never reveal the secret, Minos imprisoned them in a very high tower.
(4)	Daedalus looked around. The tower had no windows or doors from which to escape. Only the top of the tower was open, spreading a ceiling of sky above them. Through it, day-after-day, an archer sent arrows tied with packets of food and tiny wax candles to help them see at night. The walls were too high to climb. There was no way out!
(5)	But the brilliant Daedalus devised a plan. Over time he and Icarus ate very little and grew thinner and lighter. At night, they used only the light from the moon and stars, and saved the tiny candles. Daedalus and Icarus used the leftover food to attract some of the thousands of birds that migrated across the sky above them. They plucked a single feather from each bird that landed, knowing that one feather was not enough to stop them from flying.
(6)	Daedalus explained to Icarus how the candle wax would hold the feathers on their arms like wings. They waited for a perfect day, when strong winds blew from the south … strong enough to carry them north toward Athens. At last, that day arrived. As they prepared to leave, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high. "The heat of the sun could melt the wax that holds your wing feathers in place," he warned.
(7)	Then the wind lifted Daedalus and Icarus off the tower and they soared like birds high above the maze. Icarus flew higher and higher, enjoying the thrill of flight so much that he forgot his father's advice. The higher he flew, the thinner the air, and soon he could hardly breathe. He was hot and confused. Perhaps the height affected his brain. The sun began to melt the wax that held the feathers on to his arms. Icarus flapped his arms but to no avail. He tumbled like a wounded bird into the sea. Only a few scattered feathers floated on the water. Daedalus mourned his son, then continued on to safety.

4.	Who is the narrator of this passage?
	a.	the character of Icarus
	b.	the character of Daedalus
	c.	a third person, not a character
	d.	the character of Minos
5.	Which sentence is written from the first-person point of view?
	a.	The higher Icarus flew, the thinner the air, and soon he could hardly breathe.
	b.	The higher I flew, the thinner the air, and soon I could hardly breathe.
	c.	The higher you flew, the thinner the air, and soon you could hardly breathe.
	d.	The higher he flew, the thinner the air, and soon Icarus could hardly breathe.
6.	Which sentence is written from the second-person point of view?
	a.	The higher Icarus flew, the thinner the air, and soon he could hardly breathe.
	b.	The higher I flew, the thinner the air, and soon I could hardly breathe.
	c.	The higher you flew, the thinner the air, and soon you could hardly breathe.
	d.	The higher he flew, the thinner the air, and soon Icarus could hardly breathe.

7.	Rewrite the second to last paragraph from the story in the first person, as if you were Daedalus.
	Daedalus explained to Icarus how the candle wax would hold the feathers on their arms like wings. They waited for a perfect day, when strong winds blew from the south … strong enough to carry them north toward Athens. At last, that day arrived. As they prepared to leave, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high. "The heat of the sun could melt the wax that holds your wing feathers in place," he warned.

Practice 3: A Journey to the Interior of the Earth

Excerpted and adapted from the novel by Jules Verne

Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow.

(1)	WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19. Fortunately, the wind blows violently, and has enabled us to flee from the scene of the late terrible struggle. My uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, began again to look impatiently around him. The voyage resumes its natural tone.
(2)	THURSDAY, AUGUST 20. About noon, a distant noise is heard. I note the fact without being able to explain it. It is a continuous roar. Three hours pass. The roarings seem to come from a very distant waterfall and I remark this to my uncle, who replies, "Axel, you may be right."
(3)	Are we, then, speeding forward to some waterfall, which will throw us down an abyss? This method of getting to the center of the earth may please my uncle, but I prefer an ordinary horizontal movement. At any rate, now the roarings are increasingly louder. Do they come from the sky or the ocean? I look up. The sky is calm and motionless. I look out to the horizon, which is unbroken and clear of all mist. If the noise is coming from a waterfall and the ocean does flow headlong into a lower level, then the water would move faster as a sign of the danger ahead. I quickly observe the water. It moves at normal speed. I throw an empty bottle into the sea: It lies still in the water.
(4)	Hans climbs the mast to look out across the sea and points to the south, saying: "Down there! I see a vast cone of water rising from the surface!"
(5)	"Is it another sea beast?" I ask. "Then let us steer farther westward, for we know something of the danger of coming across monsters of that sort."
(6)	"Let us go straight on, Axel," replies my uncle, calmly.
(7)	The nearer we approach, the higher the jets of water. What monster could possibly fill itself with such a quantity of water, and spurt it up so continuously? By evening, we are close enough to see its body—dark, enormous, like a hill spread upon the sea as an island. Is it illusion or fear? Its length seems to me a couple of thousand yards!
(8)	What can this creature be, that no explorer who came here before made note of? It lies motionless, as if asleep. The column of water it throws up to a height of five hundred feet falls in rain with a deafening uproar. And here we are, heading like lunatics to get near to a monster that a hundred whales a day would not satisfy!

8.	This selection is told from
	a.	a fourth-person point of view.
	b.	a third-person point of view.
	c.	a second-person point of view.
	d.	a first-person point of view
9.	The narrator of the story is
	a.	Hans.
	b.	Axel.
	c.	Professor Liedenbrock.
	d.	the sea monster.
10.	Which sentence is written from the second-person point of view?
	a.	"Is it another sea beast?" I ask.
	b.	"Is it another sea beast?" Hans asks.
	c.	"Is it another sea beast?" you ask.
	d.	"Is it another sea beast?" they ask.
11.	If Hans were the narrator, the story would probably be different because
	a.	he would tell what he personally saw, said, felt, and did.
	b.	he would tell more about how Axel was feeling.
	c.	it would be told from the third person point of view.
	d.	it would be more about the kinds of foods they ate on the voyage.

12.	Rewrite this second paragraph from the story in the third person. Remember to change any necessary verb endings.
	About noon, a distant noise is heard. I note the fact without being able to explain it. It is a continuous roar. Three hours pass. The roarings seem to come from a very distant waterfall and I remark this to my uncle, who replies, "Axel, you may be right."

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Point of View Practice Exercises (page 2)