Question

True or False? W.D. Wetherell’s story “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” and Gary Soto’s poem “Oranges” both use first-person point of view.

Answer 1

True

First-person point of view is when the narrator is a character within the story. A primary indicator that a written work is in first-person point of view is the use of first-person pronouns: I, me, my, myself. Wetherell's story "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant" starts off "There was a summer in my life when the only creature that seemed lovelier to me than a largemouth bass was Sheila Mant. I was fourteen." Since this is narration and not dialogue, we know that the narrator is a character within the story. Gary Soto's "Oranges" begins "The first time I walked/With a girl, I was twelve". This narration uses the word "I" which shows that it is in first-person point of view.