Question

Miss Lottie’s house was the most ramshackle of all our ramshackle homes. The sun and rain had long since faded its rickety frame siding from white to a sullen gray. The boards themselves seemed to remain upright not from being nailed together but rather from leaning together, like a house that a child might have constructed from cards. A brisk wind might have blown it down, and the fact that it was still standing implied a kind of enchantment that was stronger than the elements. There it stood and as far as I know is standing yet—a gray, rotting thing with no porch, no shutters, no steps, set on a cramped lot with no grass, not even any weeds—a monument to decay.
The passage above is an example of which point of view?

Third-person limited
First person
Third-person omniscient
Switches between first-person and third-person limited

Answer 1

In order to answer this question correctly, we need to understand the differences between the perspectives. The first person point of view has the characteristic that it only allows the reader to experience the action and thoughts of a character within a book, which means that the first person is limited in itself. Also, it is grammatically characterized by the use of the pronoun I. The third person, on the other hand, gives a more integral perception of the story, a fuller view, and it is grammatically characterized by the use of any other pronouns except I. However, while the simple third person is limited also to only the emotions, actions, thoughts and feelings of one character, the third person omniscient detaches the reader from a single character and allows him/her to have full view of all the characters, all the actions taken by all the characters and knows information that even the characters themselves might not know. The best way to know when a writer is using any of these perspectives, is by focusing on the pronouns being used. In this case, we have two instances. The use of the third person, because we have someone narrating the characteristics of the house of Miss Lottie, in comparisson with those of all others. It is also evident when the writer uses "our" that this person is part of the characters, so this person is narrating and also participating and whatever is happening is depending on this character´s narration. Then, after all the details, the narrator passes to the first person by saying: "There it stood and as far as I know is standing yet". This is why the correct answer is D: Switches between first person and third person limited.