Child’s Point of View as a Narrative Technique

This article leans over the technical differences of novels and short stories narrated by child’s point of view and tries to point our the differences in use of language, goal of writer while using child’s point of view and functionality of this use. In texts where child’s point of view is used, the use of language leads to a double layered structure of meaning. The difference between the language child uses and perceives and that of adult reader, leads child narrator, writer and adult reader to be face to face with different codes. This very fact has an impact on both the fictive structure and relations between text and reader. In the article, it is shown that there is a common thematical ve structural pattern in the texts narrated by child’s point of view, through references to both Turkish and World Literature. These texts have common features in terms of composition of novel characters, issues that are treated, social criticism, narrative techniques that are used, writer’s attitude and other features related to this. These texts also have different types of relations with reader as they lean on relatively delicate issues using child’s point of view. In order to exlude the sides of the issue at minimum, child’s point of view is used to lean on issues such as racism, class discrimination, political and social freedom, freedom of speech. Writer wants reader to wear off their biases making them encounter this actor who is relatively easy to sympatize with. Along with the change of child’s position in society, chilg in literature also change and evolve to an ctore rather than a witness. No matter how impartial it is, a story narrated by this point of view, would be questioning the adult world. Thus, child’s point of view in literature is designed to have a transformative effect.

Keywords

Child’s point of view, viewpoint, child narrator, narrative technique, novel.