A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF POINT OF VIEW IN SELECTED SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

Abstract

One important function of Point Of View is to manipulate the readers' responses so that they are led to perceive the characters within a story in the way intended by the implied author. This orientation of readers' perceptions is achieved through different Point Of View planes. This Academic Exercise aims to show how Point Of View is linguistically constructed, and how certain facts about the characters, which are not immediately apparent to the reader, are revealed through analysing the linguistic devices within a POV plane. In Chapter One, the framework that will be used in this study is provided. The problems incurred in trying to define Point Of View are first discussed. Then, the aims of this study are outlined. Next, a review of literature on Point Of View is carried out. Finally, a brief explanation of the proposed framework is given. Chapters Two. Three, Four and Five consist of four linguistic analyses of selected Singapore short stories. An attempt is also made to explain why certain planes are more prominent in each of the stories chosen. Chapter Six highlights the more important points of this study. Some conclusions on the effects of Point Of View on the reader are drawn. The chapter concludes by suggesting possible avenues for future research.