OBJECTIVE

Answer the questions concerning narrative technique in Sun and Moon by Katherine Mansfield

GROUP MEMBERS

Cantoni Giulia, Di Giusto Elena, Segatto Erica

REPORTER

Mio Bertolo Ambra

Focus on the narrator

All the members of the group agreed on the following points :

Is the narrator who describes the scene a character in the story or a voice outside it?

The narrator who describes the scene is not a character in the story.

Is the point of view in the scene a neutral one or does it coincide with that of one or more characters? Substantiate your answer with evidence from the text.

The point of view was the ones of Sun.

“She never knew the difference between real things and not real ones.”

”Sun hoped he wasn't the concert.”

”Why was she being so nice, thought Sun as she gave them each hand.”

”She always wanted to touch all the food. Sun didn't.”

”Said cook.”

What effect does the choice of a limited point of view create for a reader?

It leaves the reader more free to judge the events of the story.

It shows the reader events from a child's prospective.

WORKING METHOD

Method used: everybody expressed her opinions and then we decided to single out the opinions shared by all members

TIME

We were able to keep to time.

DIFFICULTIES

Our difficulties were to express some ideas in English.

POSSIBLE INTERPRETATION

The reader can make up an idea of what goes on in the story if he can understand the textual clues. As a matter of fact he can infer the story is set in an aristocratic family before a party, or a concert, or both.

Two children are watching what is going on in the world of adults (in the kitchen and in the dining-room) but they do not seem to understand much.

The adult world seems meaning less, frightened but also fascinating to them. As a result Moon seems to enjoy what is going on but Son does not.

The two children had two different personalities.

The choice of a limited point of view allows the narrator to make her point by compelling the reader to get involve into the children’s reactions. This kind of narration is modern: in modernity writers very really use an omniscient perspective.