Kelly Links Monster”
Expand one of your existing Discussion Board responses into a formal academic essay; it should include deeper analysis, more examples and discussion, and probably outside sources to further develop the argument
Original Discussion Board Prompt Questions
What type of narrator does Link employ in this short story? How does it shape the readers interpretation of the story? Use evidence from the short story to make your argument. If the narrator POV were to change, what would you choose and why? Explain and summarize how the story would be different based upon your new POV.
Original Discussion Board Response:
Kelly Links Monster
The narrator is a friend to the main characters in the story. He is narrating the story as an observer. In this case, the tale is told from a third-person point of view. A third-person narrator is one who is observing events and giving a narration based on their observations of other characters. For example, the narrator portrays a picture of how the characters were camping by stating, There would be three boys to a tent, and only the boy in the middle would stay dry (Link 187). In this case, he is using the third-person point of view to narrate the events in the story. This standpoint is where both the narrator and the reader know something in the storyline that characters are not aware of in the story. Both the nature of the narrator and the point of view used to influence how a reader interprets the tale.
Point of view is a way of manipulating readers in a story. Through the third person point of view in the story, a reader can get a vivid picture of the events in the story. However, the standpoint is unreliable since it can cast doubts in readers. In Link’s story, the narrator makes those reading it to be doubtful of the events being narrated. Although he is a witty, funny character, this casts doubts on a reader’s mind. A perfect example is where he says, someone in Bungalow 4 had seen a monster in the woods (Link 187). Here, he insinuates that he is not sure of activities in the story. I prefer the first-person point of view that would have been used in narrating the story. It would have been more convincing and appealing to the reader. If this standpoint had been used, the narration would have been more persuasive. It assures readers that the narrator is sure of what they are saying since they are part of events and scenes in the story.
Works Cited
Link, Kelly. Pretty Monsters. Text Publishing, 2010.
