Third Person Analysis

First Person vs. Third Person What makes an author make choose a particular point of view to tell their story from? Does it really matter? Can the point of view of a story shape the reader’s entire experience? There are three different points of views: first, second, and third. First person is told from one character’s point of view, which limits the facts and gives the reader just the one character’s opinion of the story. Second person treats the reader as the main character in a story. Third person is all knowing; it can jump from character to character and give information that only the narrator knows about. Shirley Jackson decided to write “The Lottery” in third person while Alice Walker chooses to write “Everyday Use” in first person.
“Everyday Use” takes place during a time where people were becoming more cultured and trying to embrace their heritage. Dee returns home after leaving to go to college. She is returning home to her mother and a shy soft spoken sister named Maggie. When Dee returns home she shares the she changed her name to Wangero because she no longer wanted to be named after her oppressor. “‘What happened to ‘Dee’?’ I wanted to know. ‘She’s dead,’ Wangero said, ‘I couldn’t bear it any longer being named after the people who oppress me.” (Walker 258). Wangero’s main conflict with Mama in this story is she feels like they are still living like slaves and not willing to change. Mama accepts a lot of things that Wangero does and how she is choosing to live life. She and Maggie are content with the way they are living. Mama and Wangero finally have a disagreement over a quilt. Wangero and Maggie’s grandma made years ago to be used to keep warm. Mama tells Wangero that she already promised the quilt to Maggie, but Wangero feels like it is a part of her heritage and it should be displayed not used in everyday life. Maggie overhears the argument and comes in and tells Mama that Wangero can have it and that’s when Mama finally stands up for Maggie and tells her the quilt is hers because she will use it for what it was intended for. “’But, they’re priceless!’ she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper. ‘Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!’” (Walker 259). Wangero was furious and left and Maggie and Mama sat out until the sun went down and continued on with their everyday life because that’s what they are happy with. “After we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of just sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed.” (Walker