THE RIVER AND THE SOURCE - POINT OF VIEW

The novel “THE RIVER AND THE SOURCE” has been written in the third person point of view. In this point of view the narrator uses third person pronouns such as he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its, their, theirs, himself, herself, themselves, itself and oneself.

Examples of sentences written in the third person point of view.

1.       Using he

·         Actually he had already covered himself in considerable glory by siring seven sons. However this time he was wrong because for the first time he was the father of a daughter. (p11)

·         He tried to cover it up of course for it would have been unseemly, but was soon clear to everyone that only one thing could be counted on to earn one severe reprimand and that thing was a complaint from Akoko. P(

2.       Using she

·         She was therefore named Obanda – it not being uncommon to name a girl after a man and a boy after a woman. (p12)

·         When she was two weeks old the baby developed a prolonged bout of colic and screaming that went on all night. (p12)

3.       Using it

·         It was about thirty seasons before that great snaking metal road of jorochere, the white people, reached the bartering market of Kisuma. (p11)

·         He tried to cover it up of course for it would have been unseemly, but was soon clear to everyone that only one thing could be counted on to earn one a severe reprimand and that thing was a complaint from Akoko.

4.       Using they

·         One and all they met twenty one hostile brothers and an impossible to please father. (p17)

·         They moved some distance away and Akoko watching from her mother’s kitchen thought amusedly to herself, “I should ask father to give me a piece of land to settle on because at this rate I shall never leave his house”. (p22)

5.       Using him

·         His Jawang’yo (the spy he had sent to inspect the girl) had told him that she had a most beautiful neck, long with lovely creases tracing their way around it. (p23)

·         Let him see what he was getting. (p24)

6.       Using her

·         Her antecedents are peerless for she can trace her bloodline clear to Ramogi our great father and her blood is pure for we have always taken care to marry correctly. (p24)

·         Her head swivelled around a bit and then her gaze rested on Owuor. (p24)

7.       Using them

·         His parent’s hearts swelled with pride within them, but even they kept a severe check on their tongues. (p29)

·         He smiled in his usual enigmatic manner, thanked them and informed them that he would ponder over the matter. How could he tell them that since he married his wife, he had profoundly lost interest in all other women. (p30)

8.       Using his

·         The father hung around in a rather unchiefly manner, probably afraid that his spring would dry up before it had really begun. (p12)

·         His face was ritually tattooed, his head sat proudly on his shoulders and he wore only a tiny piece of leopard skin which barely reached his midthigh, from under which two powerful legs protruded. (p18)

9.       Using her

·         Her brother Oloo, in fact, loved her so much that decades later he did an unheard of thing by taking her, a widow, beaten and bruised by life back into his house. (p15)

·         Akoko grew fairly slowly but she made up for her lack of height with a brightness and a determination that would be the hallmark of her entire life. (p

10.   Using its

·         Someone grabbed it, turned it upside down, slapped its bottom twice and eventually she let out a yell to equal her mother’s twenty four seasons before. (p32)

·         It was interesting that nobody actually got hurt in the melee. Its purpose being purely ceremonial, but the uninitiated might have thought that all were intent on actual bodily harm if not murder. (p27)

11.   Using their

·         Seventeen seasons was quite young for a daughter of Ramogi to consider marriage, somewhat older girls were preferred, and many girls had approached their thirtieth season still in their father’s houses as their aspiring suitors struggled to acquire the required head of cattle. (p16)

·         Let us shock them by accepting their offer without bargaining.

12.   Using himself

·         Among the suitors was controlled pandemonium; controlled because an or, a son in law, always had to comport himself with great dignity (even if escaping from a house on fire) when in the presence of his in laws, especially the maro, mother in law, whom they were sure was watching them from some chink in a wall. (p22)

·         At this point the chief was under great pressure to marry another wife, especially from his mother who felt that the rate at which he was reproducing himself was too slow. (p30)

13.   Using herself

·         They moved some distance away and Akoko watching from her mother’s kitchen thought amusedly to herself, “I should ask father to give me a piece of land to settle on because at this rate I shall never leave his house”.(p22)

·         People waited with bated breath and ten moons from the day she arrived wailing, Akoko delivered herself of a fine son. (p29)

14.   Using themselves

·         For most part they marvelled silently, except for a few ill-mannered types who forgot themselves to the point of mentioning some amazing aspects of the child’s character. (p290

15.   Using itself

·         He almost struck his mother, a great taboo, and throttled his brother half to death before reason reasserted itself. (p37)

·         It is like a sickness of the blood which transmits itself to generations and becomes a curse forever. (p93)

16.   Using oneself

·         I have always been taught that honour and pride in oneself and one’s people were of the utmost importance for one’s sense of being, for as wise men tell us, how can you know where you are going if you do not know where you come from? (p42)

·         It was not much for it is folly to weigh oneself down either mentally or physically when moving from one life to another. (p112)

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Advantages of using third person point of view.

1.       The narrator is able to report actions and events taking place in different places or setting. For example, the narrator gives detailed account of Akoko’s journey to Kisumu and what she experiences there while at the same time tell us of the events taking place in yimbo when Nyabera was giving birth to Awiti.

2.       The narrator can tell of the thoughts of the characters. For example after the death of Owang sino the narrator reveals to the readers what thoughts Nyabera was having at that time.

3.       The narrator can reveal the character traits of the characters e.g. the narrator says that Nyabera was pretty.

4.       The narrator can reveal the mood of the characters e.g. during the marriage negotiation between Akoko and chief Owuor kembo, the narrator reveals how bitter Otieno was when he learnt that the bride price for Akoko would be 30 heads of cattle.

5.       The narrator can reveal the setting of the novel e.g. in the opening of the novel the narrator reveals the setting of Kisumu.

6.       The narrator can reveal the conflicts that are taking place in the novel e.g. the narrator helps to reveal the source of conflict between Vera and Becky.

7.       The narrator can reveal the time period of events taking place in the novel e.g. the narrator reveals the year that tony junior sat for his certificate of primary education which took place in 1972.

8.       The narrator helps to reveal the relationship between different characters e.g. the narrator has revealed how close Akoko was with his father since she was her eldest daughter.

9.       The narrator helps to reveal some of the themes in the novel e.g. the narrator reveals the themes of death, religion, love, female empowerment etc.

10.   The narrator can report on future and past events that take place in the novel.

11.   The narrator can give vivid description of events, places, characters etc.

12.   The narrator can reveal some of the literary devices used in the novel.

13.   The narrator can reveal the characters in the novel

Disadvantages of using third person point of view

1.       The narrator may fail to fully describe a character.

2.       The narrator may not give accurate information of events taking place in different localities.

3.       The narrator may fail to point out the weaknesses or strengths of some of the characters.

4.       The narrator may fail to fully describe the plot of the story.

5.       The narrator may form a biased opinion on a character, event, place or action.

6.       The narrator may fail to give relevant information necessary to push the plot of the story forward.

7.       The narrator may give irrelevant information that is parallel to the plot of the story.