Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. The perspective or point of view of a novel, often called the “POV,” is a crucial literary device to developing tone and meaning in a narrative. Why is POV so important? How might an author deploy first-person, second-person, or third-person POV to enhance a novel’s overall themes? Do certain POVs lend themselves to specific genres?

Teaching Suggestion: For Acceleration, the first-person POV is important in two key ways. First, in a thriller novel, it allows the reader to witness the mystery unfold alongside the main character, Duncan. Second, the book’s theme of Guilt, Forgiveness, and Absolution involves Duncan grappling with his own emotions, and the first-person POV is well-suited to exploring deeply personal, intimate themes. 

• BookRiot’s “What is Point of View in Literature?” is a broad overview of each type of POV.
• MasterClass’s “What is First Person Point of View in Writing? How to Write in First Person Narrative Voice with Examples” focuses on first-person POV and the reasons why an author might choose it.