Which statement best defines objective point of view?

Which statement best defines objective point of view?

• A. The narrator knows everything about all characters.
• B. The writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue.
• C. The narrator's knowledge is limited to one character's perspective.
• D. The narrator comments on the events with personal opinions.

Answer: (B)

Objective point of view presents only what can be observed—the actions and dialogue—without revealing characters' inner thoughts, feelings, or motives. That matches the statement that the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. Think of it like watching events unfold on a stage or a camera: you see what characters do and say, but you don’t hear their private thoughts or hear the narrator's judgments about them. For example, you might read that a character fumbles a letter, looks away, and says nothing, but you wouldn’t read the narrator explaining what the character is really feeling or why they behaved that way. Other viewpoints involve access to thoughts or opinions: an all-knowing narrator reveals inner thoughts of many characters; a perspective limited to a single character’s viewpoint shares that character’s private insights; a narrator who comments with personal opinions injects bias. Those features go beyond objective reporting of actions and dialogue.

Objective point of view presents only what can be observed—the actions and dialogue—without revealing characters' inner thoughts, feelings, or motives. That matches the statement that the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue.

Think of it like watching events unfold on a stage or a camera: you see what characters do and say, but you don’t hear their private thoughts or hear the narrator's judgments about them. For example, you might read that a character fumbles a letter, looks away, and says nothing, but you wouldn’t read the narrator explaining what the character is really feeling or why they behaved that way.

Other viewpoints involve access to thoughts or opinions: an all-knowing narrator reveals inner thoughts of many characters; a perspective limited to a single character’s viewpoint shares that character’s private insights; a narrator who comments with personal opinions injects bias. Those features go beyond objective reporting of actions and dialogue.