Original( Page 840): You tried to find out where it’s coming from: you open the door to the hallway, but you can’t hear anything from there: those cries are coming from up above, from the skylight. You jump up on the chair, from the chair onto the desk, and by supporting yourself on the bookshelf you can reach the skylight. You open one of the windows and pull yourself up to look out at that side garden, that square of yellow trees and brambles where five, six, seven cats- you can’t count them, can’t hold yourself up for more than a second- are all twined together, all writhing in flames and giving off a dense smoke that reeks of burnt fur. As you get down again you wonder if you really saw it: perhaps you only imagined it from those dreadful cries that continue, grow less, and finally stop.
First Person: I tried to find out where it’s coming from: I opened the food to the hallway, but I couldn’t hear anything from there: those cries are coming from up above, from the skylight. I jumped up on the chair, from the chair onto the desk and by supporting myself on the bookshelf I reached the skylight. I opened one of the windows and pulled myself up to look out at the side garden, the square of yellow trees and brambles where five, six, seven cats- I couldn’t count them, couldn’t hold myself up for more than a second- are all twined together, all writhing in flames and gave off a dense smoke that reeked of burnt fur. As I got down again I wondered if I really saw it: perhaps I only imagined it from those dreadful cried that continued, grew less and finally stopped.
Third Person: He tried to find out where it’s coming from: he opened the door to the hallway, but he can’t hear anything from there: those cries are coming from up above, from the skylight. He jumped up on the chair, from the chair onto the desk, and by supporting himself on the bookshelf he reached the skylight. He opened one of the windows and pulled himself up to look out at that side garden, that square of yellow trees and brambles where five, six, seven- he can’t count them, can’t hold himself up for more than a second- are all twined together, all writhing in flames and giving off a dense smoke that reeks of burnt fur. As he gets down again he wonders if he really saw it: perhaps he only imagined it from those dreadful cries that continue, grow less, and finally stop.
Translating it to first person brought on a little bit of difficulty but not much and third person wasn’t too hard. Changing them, only cemented to me, the idea that we drew in class on Tuesday that when reading a story in second person, you get thrown in and in this excerpt, by the use of the actions taking place you really experience that.
As Vyonna translates the excerpt from second person to 3rd person, I believe you can see how the point of view in which the author writes can change the readers perspective of a character or situation entirely. The excerpt is originally in second person, giving it the most relatable point of view to the reader because it utilizes pronouns like “you”. I feel the use of that pronoun makes a reader envision themselves as the main character or the one who is acting in the novel or passage, making it the most stimulating and relatable in a way.
The difference between the second and 3rd person has to be the role the reader plays in each of these points of view. In second person the reader is more involved in the narrative and actively plays a role. For example,” You tried to find out where it’s coming from” instantly forces the reader to put him or herself in a situation where they are trying to find something because of the use of the pronoun “You”. Once the excerpt gets translated to 3rd person, the reader takes a more subdued role and is no longer included in the action of the novel. The reader is now on the outside of the situation looking in, almost like a ghost.
Like how we have discussed in class, when translating from second person to third person or first person, we tend to see the picture in past tense. I have also noticed that one of the reasons why third person and first person perspective is not as attention grabbing as the second person perspective due to this change of tenses. When reading something in past tense we have the feeling that the event had already passed so there’s no way we would be involved in it; therefore, we tend to care less about the event. This can also be seen in the newspaper headlines when a team wins a game. Most of the time the headline would be in the present tense, for example, “Mets Wins” so the readers can share and experience the moment of joy even if it had already occurred.
-Chi Z.
This is something I mentioned in my own group’s translation but I feel it’s relevant here as well: because this is not a realistic passage, it does not make much sense in the second person. This is why it feels so much like a dream. When would we ever see a group of burning cats outside our window? And if that was possible, when would we ever react so calmly about it? I agree with you guys that “when reading a story in second person, you get thrown in and in this excerpt, by the use of the actions taking place you really experience that” but it definitely has the feel of being fantasy over reality because I cannot actually picture this happening to me without it being heavy on my imagination.
I agree with Mark and Vyonna about the feeling and the perspective is also changed with the change of the view point. I personally felt that the first person point of view and the second person point of view seemed to me the most personal to me while the third person point of view did not seem this way. The second point of view is very personal and sentimental because of the language used such as “you”. The use of you is important because it provides more of a personal connection to the story and to the characters of the story which adds to the overall theme the author is trying to prove. I also agree with one of my peers comments about how when reading something in past tense we have the feeling that the event had already passed so there’s no way we would be involved in it; therefore, we tend to care less about the event. I agree with this because I see it on a daily basis through my friends, colleagues, and others but the apathy is also relevant in tragic world history events.
Until reading this post and its comments, I didn’t really consider the weight of realism on my imagination with regards to the viewpoint from which the story is written. While second person does put the most strain on my imagination, particularly as it pertains to the burning cats, I think first person could have achieved a similar goal. Third person understandably could not have done so, but first person might have achieved a similar goal. Ultimately though, I do agree that writing Aura in second person allowed Fuentes to put the most imaginative spin on the readers’ perspectives.
In my personal opinion i believe that the second person point of view is the most engaging to the audience. It gives us a feeling of being involved in the story and allows us to be more involved by imaging ourselves in the character’s shoes. With first person i felt a disconnect from the story and had this feeling of an outsider perspective. Surprisingly i enjoyed reading in a third person perspective more than the first person as it pulled me into the story more.