ACHIEVE UNITY THROUGH POINT OF VIEW

1. I thought that we would remain on Canal Street as we had done that morning, but Robert assured me that he knew a vantage point that was far superior, and accordingly we went up St. Charles Street for eight or more squares. All along the street men and women lined the sidewalks. Many of them had brought camp-stools or cushions and were sitting along the curb; other spread out newspapers and sat on them. In front of the stores the shopkeepers' families had gathered and were perched on boxes or tables in order that they could see above the heads of those on the sidewalk.

At las we reached Lee Circle....Here the ground has been built up into a sort of round mountain, and at the top of this grass-grown mound there rises a huge fluted column of stone which in turn supports a bronze statue of Robert E. Lee. At the base of the column is a pyramid of stone, like gigantic steps rising one above the other, each step more than a yard high. By scrambling up this giants' staircase, we reached the summit; and there, seated on the edge of the topmost step, we sat leaning back aginast the stone column which disappeared into the darkness above our heads.

2. There came a whisper which turned into a cry. The parade was coming. I looked with all my eyes up the avenue but at first could see nothing but the flickering rows of lights as they converged far away, but then, after a moment, I was conscious of a red glare in the sky--almost on the horizon it seemed, an aura which seemed to rise from the ground, or to emanate from the air itself. It was something apart from life as I knew it. It was magic itself.

As I looked, smaller lights became visible in the red glare, little twinkling lights of yellow and blue and green, bright pinpoints of flame. Then, as the endless stream of lights moved nearer I was conscious of great wreaths of black smoke which swirled upward into the darkness, smoke which held and reflected the flaring lights and which surrounded this gliimmering far-off pageant with a rim of fire. I heard music... first just a broken bar, then another, finally a melody, faint and sweet.

We were high above the parade, and it was coming directly toward us, down the avenue. Little by little objects became visible, dark shapes against the flare--men on horseback clearing the route. Then below each glowing point of flame I could discern a red figure--men holding the torches. And always the bobbing of these lights and their swirling smoke rising toward the dim stars. In the center of each of these circles of light, masses of pale color became visible--the floats, pale in the ight, yet brilliant too. And they seemed to glide noiselessly and effortlessly forward; relentless, like a gigantic dragon bearing down upon the crowd.

Convey a physical point of view: the observer's post of observation In descriptive-narrative writing, the angle of vision, the post of observation, from which the events are recorded, is very important. At the outset the writer must decide on the position in space from which he will report the events, for this position will guide the reader's experiencing of the events. Does he, for example, want the reader to experience the events from a psychological distance, from above looking down? Does he want the reader to experience the events through the eyes of an active participant? Or does he want the reader to get more than a single view? The post of observaiton, which we may also call the physical point of view, can be fixed or moving. It guides the reader's impressions; and, if it is consistently maintained or consistently varied, it contributes to the unity of the entire work.

In the selection above, Saxon gives his readers a view of the parade at Mardi Gras from a stationary position--through the eyes of the boy sitting high above the street level. From this fixed point the author focuses the reader's attention on the area for an extended time as the parade approaches. Saxon uses something of a camera technique here: going from a distant shot to a close-up, increasing the detail of the topography as the parade approaches. Moreover, he organizes the description in the order of appearance of the sights: first, the general impression of things "far away," then, the specific impressions as the parade draws nearer. A definite order in the presenting of details is necessary in achieving a unified effect.

Convey a mental point of view: the observer's attitude In conversation, you know by the tone of a person's whether he is pleased, angry, happy, or excited, even if the words he uses do not necessarily indicate his feeling. In writing, it is more difficult to convey tone because readers do not hear the tone of a voice. You learn the mental point of view of the writer only thorugh his handling of his material. For example, if you are trying to convey the excitement of an event, you would not likely use words like "tiring," wearing," "deadening"; nor would you be likely to use a series of long, involved, hard-to-read sentences. You would be more likely to vary your sentence lengths, constructing short, direct sentences at appropriate junctures to emphasize the excitement. The writer's mental point of view will determine his word choices, his sentence structure choices, and his selection of details.

ASSIGNMENT

Write one paragraph about a supermarket on Friday afternoon from the point of view of a young and tired Sabbath School teacher with three children. Have your narrator participate actively in the scene. Make sure you convey definite physical and mental points of view.