Point of view provides the eyes, ears, and thoughts of a character. By analyzing point of view, students can gather insight to the author’s purpose, theme, and voice. In this activity, students will examine the author’s point of view and identify ways it is unique in understanding elements of the story.
“Mary had thought it must be different from other gardens which had not been left all by themselves so long…”
“The robin was tremendously busy. He was very much pleased to see gardening begun on his own estate.”
“Colin flushed triumphantly. He had made himself believe that he was going to get well, which was really more than half the battle. If he had been aware of it.”
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Student Instructions
Ask the students to read the story carefully and analyze all the details such as how many characters there are present in the story. What are the physical appearances of the characters and what sort of setting do they live in? Students can create a list of all these details and discuss with the teacher what sort of preparations they need to make.
Since the narrative is in a story format, students would need to make a script for all the characters involved. This would require a thorough examination of the characters, vocabulary and sentence formation. Teachers can guide the students in making the script and constantly provide feedback.
Interested students can give auditions for their favourite characters. If there are more than a few students who want to be a part of the performance, teachers can create 2-3 groups and ask them to write their own scripts, make their costumes and add something from their own imagination to the performance so all the students can feel involved yet have distinct elements in their performances.
With each group, conduct character-focused discussions. Encourage your students to take on the characteristics, behaviors, and feelings of their characters. Give the students some flexibility with the ideas and performance for instance, one group can create an accurate performance of the story and the other one can create a modern adaptation with central ideas at heart.
Facilitate a conversation regarding how the audience's comprehension of the characters and events changed as a result of hearing the narrative from many points of view after the performances. Students who were involved in the performance can also share their thoughts and perspectives on the characters that they played.
The majority of "The Secret Garden" is written from a third-person, constrained point of view. The narrator usually talks about the feelings and thoughts of the main characters present in the story but sometimes, the readers are also pointed at thoughts of other characters.
The reader may see the narrative through Mary's perspective thanks to the third-person restricted point of view. As a result, the reader experiences Mary's changing feelings and viewpoints while seeing the world of Misselthwaite Manor and the secret garden.