Narrator

The voice that tells a story, which is distinct from its author and characters.

The voice that tells a story, distinct from both the writer and the characters.

In Stave One, the narrator insists that Marley is certainly dead before his ghost appears. This establishes why his return is extraordinary. Dickens gradually builds suspense through the changing door-knocker, ringing bells and approaching chain noises before bringing Marley into Scrooge’s room.

The voice that tells a story. In Frankenstein, the three main narrators are Robert Walton, Victor Frankenstein and the creature.

Distinguish Dickens, the writer, from the narrator he creates. The narrator’s comments guide our responses but are not spoken by Scrooge.

Distinguish Shelley, the author, from the narrator speaking at that point: Walton, Victor or the creature.

Distinguish the child Jane’s immediate feelings from the adult narrator’s later understanding.

The person who tells a story. In The Sign of Four, Dr Watson narrates events in the first person, using ‘I’.

The voice telling a story. In The Sign of Four, Watson is a first-person narrator: readers encounter events through his observations, feelings and understanding.

The voice that tells a story. Watson is the first-person narrator of The Sign of Four, so readers encounter events through his observations and judgements.

The voice telling a story. In Jane Eyre, the adult Jane narrates events in which she herself participated.

The person who tells a story. In Jane Eyre, the adult Jane narrates her own earlier experiences, combining remembered feelings with later judgement.

The person or voice telling a story; their perspective shapes what readers learn and how events are presented.

The voice that tells a story, which is not necessarily the author’s own voice.

The voice that tells a story. A narrator is a creation of the writer, not automatically the writer speaking as themselves.

By Stave Five, the frightening sounds have become “merry bells”, as the narrator describes them. Scrooge discovers that the visits have happened in one night and that he has not missed Christmas Day. The movement from threatening deadlines to time available for making amends reinforces the moral purpose: the living can still act.

The voice that tells a story; it is distinct from the characters who speak within it.

The voice that tells a story, distinct from its author and from the characters. Austen’s third-person narrator can describe behaviour, judge it and move close to Elizabeth’s perspective.

The voice that tells a story, which should be distinguished from the author and from characters speaking within it.

The person or voice telling a story. In Silas Marner, the narrator can reveal several characters’ thoughts and comment on their behaviour.

The voice telling a story, which is distinct from both the author and the characters.

The voice telling a story. In Anita and Me, Meena Kumar narrates her own experiences.

Meena is a first-person narrator: she tells her own story. The narration is also retrospective, meaning that she looks back on childhood. Syal can therefore combine the child’s immediate excitement or embarrassment with an older narrator’s humour and understanding.

The person who tells a story. In Great Expectations, the older Pip narrates and reflects on his younger self’s experiences.

The voice that tells a story, distinct from both its author and its characters.

The voice that tells a story. In The War of the Worlds, an unnamed man recounts his experiences and incorporates his brother’s account.

The voice that tells a story. A narrator is a construction of the author, not necessarily someone who shares the author's views.

The voice that tells a story; it is a creation of the writer, not automatically the writer speaking directly.

The voice that tells a story or describes events. In ‘Disabled’, a third-person narrator describes the soldier while also conveying his memories and thoughts.

The narrator introduces the soldier with ‘He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,’. The verbs ‘sat’ and ‘waiting’ establish stillness and dependence. Rather than looking forward to an activity, he waits for the day to end.

The voice that tells a story. Dickens’s narrator describes events, comments on characters and sometimes addresses the reader directly.

The voice that tells a story. In Silas Marner, the narrator describes events, reveals characters’ thoughts and comments on human behaviour.

The voice that tells a story. In The War of the Worlds, an unnamed survivor recounts the invasion and his own experiences.

The voice that tells a story. A third-person narrator refers to characters as ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’ rather than telling the whole story as ‘I’.

A character who tells a story. In Frankenstein, Walton records his own experiences and passes on Victor’s account.

The voice telling a story; it is not necessarily the author or a character who takes part in the events.

The voice telling a story. A narrator is not automatically identical to the writer.

The voice telling a story. A poem’s narrator should be distinguished from its author and from the characters whose speech it reports.

The voice that tells a story. A narrator is a literary creation, not automatically identical to the author.

The voice telling a story. In a novel, the narrator is distinct from the author, even when commenting on characters and events.

Definition

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AQA GCSE English Literature · 8702

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Edexcel GCSE English Literature · 1ET0

OCR GCSE English Literature · J352

Eduqas GCSE English Literature · C720