Final answer:
Characterizing the narrator involves analyzing their traits, narrative voice, and point of view, which can range from first-person to third-person omniscient. The narrator's style, such as fragmentation or use of dialect, plays a significant role in shaping the reader's interpretation of the story.
Step-by-step explanation:
Characterizing the narrator involves looking at the traits and attributes that define their narrative voice and point of view in a story. The narrator can be a character within the story, offering a subjective first-person perspective, or they can be an objective, third-person voice that is not part of the story's events. In either case, the narrator's persona plays a key role in how they tell the story and influence the reader's understanding of it. The style of narration, whether fragmented or continuous, also affects how readers perceive the story.
In examining a story's narrative voice, we might consider whether it is first-person, third-person limited, or third-person omniscient. A first-person narrator provides personal insights but may be unreliable due to their subjective perspective. A third-person limited narrator offers a view from outside a single character's perspective, while a third-person omniscient narrator has an all-knowing view of the story's events and characters.
In analyzing texts like 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' by James Joyce or 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens, readers should consider how the narrative voice and perspective influence their interpretation of the characters and events. Whether the narrative is fragmented, uses dialect or slang, or includes the narrator's thoughts and feelings, these aspects contribute to a richer, more complex understanding of the narrative voice.