Lorrie Moore’s short story “How to Become a Writer” is a second person point of view short story; this point of view helps writer to develop the theme, in this story, which is, as you choose to become a writer, you will probably be isolated from the world.
Second person point of view makes audience feel they are not only reading the stories but also being there and witnessing it. In the story, when Lorrie Moore shows her mom her writing, she describes her mom’s face blank as a donut, and after, her mom says, “How about empting the dishwasher?” Readers at this time, are not only feeling writer’s disappointment and her mom’s carelessness, they can actually also picture her mom’s face and see it as they are there. It is the same when Lorrie Moore describes her classmates and roommates’ faces, teachers’ commons, and people’s misunderstandings. Those are all the descriptions explaining the thesis-If you choose to become a Writer, you will probably be isolated from the world; and thus, second person point of view helps to develop it.
Second person point of view can also create an intense sense of intimacy between the narrator and the reader, causing the reader to feel implicit in and powerless against plots. At the end of the short story “How to Become a Writer”, Lorrie Moore uses a very peaceful tone to narrate her life: dropping law school, breaking up with boyfriend, having meaningless dates, quitting all the jobs. From the writing, even though it seems like the writer doesn’t really care about all those things, readers can still feel a piece of sadness in it. That is because the second person point of view produces an intimacy between the narrator and readers; it makes the narrator become not just a narrator, but more. In the short story, Francie is not only just a strange girl who accidently majors in writing; she becomes someone that readers know and are familiar with. So, at the end, when Francie’s life doesn’t go well, readers could get an impact from the pitiful sad feelings. The second person point of view makes reader feel more about the writer’s world; therefore, it helps the theme.
Lorrie Moore’s short story “How to Become a Writer” uses a second person point of view, and this point of view helps her develop the theme, which is if you choose to become a writer, you probably will be isolated from the world.
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