Question

Which narrative style does Jhumpa Lahiri use in her short story “Once in a Lifetime”? A. first-person perspective B. second-person perspective C. third-person limited perspective D. third-person omniscient perspective

Answer 1

Answer:

B. second-person perspective

Explanation:

“Once in a Lifetime” uses second-person perspective. We can see this because the narrator narrates the scene from the point of view of a single character and writes as if the reader were that character. Use the pronoun "Tu" instead of the name of the character who is telling the story.

It is a little-used style whose success presents increased difficulties, since it has to persuade the reader to assume that he is a character in the story, and that his actions would be his own.

The advantage is that it is an intensely personal style that creates a profound intimacy between the narrator and the reader. The disadvantage is the possibility of losing the reader, subjecting him to the inevitability of the plot, and the reader's almost disagreement with the character's actions.

Answer 2

First-person!

She writes the story's narrative using "I", "Me", and "My".