Question

In all my years at Shawshank, there have been less than ten men whom I believed when they told me they were innocent. Andy Dufresne was one of them, although I only became convinced of his innocence over a period of years. If I had been on the jury that heard his case in Portland Superior Court over six stormy weeks in 1947-48, I would have voted to convinct, too. Source: King, Stephen. "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption." Different Seasons. New York: Penguin Group, 1982. Google Books. Web. 16 May 2011. How does the point of view in the excerpt affect the characterization in the text? Characterization emphasizes action and dialogue through third-person point of view. Characterization occurs through the point of view of an all-seeing narrator who interprets and makes judgments. Characterization occurs through the potentially biased point of view of one character. The excerpt is lacking any definite point of view because the narrator is not identified.

Answer 1

Characterization occurs through the potentially biased point of view of one character. 

The passage is told from the first person point of view, the narrator is talking about his interaction with Andy and how his opinion might have been different if he had met him under different circumstances.