First person vs. Second person vs. Third person - Rebekah Bergman

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Josua Erwin

“I am an invisible man.”

"Aku seorang pria tak kasat mata."

“Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.”

"Mrs. Dalloway berkata dia akan membeli sendiri bunganya."

“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel.”

"Kau akan mulai membaca novel baru Italo Calvino."

These three opening lines, from Ralph Ellison’s "Invisible Man,"

Tiga kalimat pembuka yang berasal dari "Invisible Man" karya Ralph Ellison,

Virginia Woolf’s "Mrs. Dalloway,"

"Mrs. Dalloway" karya Virginia Woolf,

and Italo Calvino’s "If on a winter’s night a traveler,"

dan "If on a winter’s night a traveler" karya Italo Calvino,

each establish a different point of view.

masing-masing memiliki sudut pandang berbeda.

Who is telling a story, and from what perspective,

Siapa yang bercerita dan dari sudut pandang mana,

are some of the most important choices an author makes.

adalah beberapa pilihan penting yang harus dibuat seorang penulis.

Told from a different point of view, a story can transform completely.

Dari sudut pandang berbeda, suatu cerita bisa berubah sama sekali.

Take this fairytale:

Contohnya dongeng ini:

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel," the Prince called, "let down your hair."

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel," panggil Pangeran, "turunkan rambutmu."

Rapunzel unbraided her hair and slung it out the window.

Rapunzel melepas kepangan rambutnya dan melemparkannya ke luar jendela.

The prince climbed her tresses into the tower.

Sang pangeran memanjat rambut panjangnya ke dalam menara.

Rapunzel is typically told like this, with the narrator outside the story.

Rapunzel biasanya dikisahkan seperti ini, dengan narator berada di luar cerita.

This point of view is called third person.

Sudut pandang ini disebut orang ketiga.

But Rapunzel can also be told by a character in the story—

Namun Rapunzel juga dapat dikisahkan oleh karakter dalam ceritanya—

a first person narrator.

narator orang pertama.

The tail end of Rapunzel’s locks plopped down at my feet.

Ujung rambut ikal Rapunzel terhempas di kakiku.

I grabbed on and began to climb… ugh!

Aku meraihnya dan mulai memanjat...uh!

I couldn’t untangle myself.

Aku tak bisa melepaskan diri.

Strands came off all over me, sticking to my sweat.

Helai rambutnya menyelimuti tubuhku, menempel di peluhku.

In a first person narrative, the story can change dramatically

Dalam sudut pandang orang pertama, ceritanya bisa berubah dramatis

depending on which character is the narrator.

tergantung karakter mana yang menjadi naratornya.

Say Rapunzel was narrating instead of the prince:

Apabila Rapunzel yang berkisah, bukan sang pangeran:

I hope he appreciates how long it takes to unbraid 25 feet of hair, I thought.

Kuharap dia tahu betapa repotnya melepas kepangan rambut delapan meter, pikirku.

OUCH! I'll be honest; I thought my scalp would stretch off of my skull.

ADUH! Jujur saja; kupikir kulit kepalaku akan terlepas dari tengkorakku.

"Can you climb any faster?" I yelled.

"Bisakah kau memanjat lebih cepat?" seruku.

In second person, the narrator addresses the story to the reader:

Di sudut pandang orang kedua, narator menujukan ceritanya ke pembaca:

He calls your name. He wants you to let your hair down.

Dia memanggilmu. Dia mau kau menurunkan rambutmu.

You just finished braiding it, but hey– you don't get a lot of visitors.

Kau baru saja selesai mengepangnya, tapi hei– kau tak sering dikunjungi.

Third person, first person, and second person perspectives

Sudut pandang orang ketiga, pertama, dan kedua

each have unique possibilities and constraints.

masing-masing memiliki peluang unik dan batasan-batasan.

So how do you choose a point of view for your story?

Lalu bagaimana kau memilih sudut pandang untuk ceritamu?

Constraints aren’t necessarily a bad thing—

Batasan tak selalu buruk—

they can help focus a story or highlight certain elements.

batasan membantumu memfokuskan cerita atau menyorot elemen tertentu.

For example,

Sebagai contoh,

a third person narrator is necessarily a bit removed from the characters.

narator orang ketiga harus sedikit terpisah dari para karakternya.

But that can be good for stories where a feeling of distance is important.

Namun itu baik bagi cerita di mana rasa berjarak diutamakan.

A third person narrator can be either limited,

Narator orang ketiga bisa jadi terbatas,

meaning they stick close to one character’s thoughts and feelings,

artinya mereka berfokus pada pikiran dan perasaan satu karakter,

or they can be omniscient, able to flit between characters’ minds

atau bisa juga mahatahu, mampu berpindah antara pikiran banyak karakter.

and give the reader more information.

dan memberi pembaca lebih banyak informasi.

A first person story creates closeness between the reader and the narrator.

Orang pertama menciptakan kedekatan antara pembaca dan sang narator.

It’s also restricted by the narrator’s knowledge.

Namun juga terbatas oleh pengetahuan sang narator.

This can create suspense

Ini bisa menciptakan ketegangan

as the reader finds out information along with the character.

saat pembaca memperoleh informasi bersama dengan karakternya.

A first person narrator doesn’t necessarily

Narator orang pertama tidak harus

have to represent the character’s experience faithfully—

menggambarkan pengalaman si karakter dengan setia—

they can be delusional or dishonest.

mereka bisa jadi berkhayal atau tidak jujur.

In Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel "The Remains of the Day,"

Dalam novel "The Remains of the Day" karya Kazuo Ishiguro,

Stevens, an aging British butler in 1956, recounts his many years of service,

Stevens, seorang pelayan tua dari Inggris di tahun 1956, mengisahkan pengabdiannya,

but fails to acknowledge the flaws of the man he serves.

tetapi gagal mengakui kekurangan majikannya.

The cracks in his narrative eventually draw the reader’s attention

Retak dalam narasinya akhirnya menarik perhatian pembaca

to the under-acknowledged failings of the culture and class system

akan kelemahan yang kurang diakui dari budaya dan sistem kelas

he inhabits.

yang dijalaninya.

Justin Torres’s novel, "We the Animals,"

Novel Justin Torres, "We the Animals,"

begins with a plural first person narrator:

diawali narator orang pertama jamak:

“We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet;

"Kami enam tangan merenggut, enam kaki memijak:

we were brothers, boys, three little kings locked in a feud for more.”

kami saudara, anak lelaki, tiga raja kecil terkekang perselisihan."

Partway through the story, the point of view shifts

Di separuh cerita, sudut pandangnya berganti

to first person singular, from we to I, as the boys come of age

dari orang pertama tunggal, dari kami ke aku, seiring pertambahan usia mereka

and one brother feels alienated from the others.

dan satu saudara merasa terasing dari yang lainnya.

Second person is a less common choice.

Orang kedua bukan pilihan yang umum.

It requires the writer to make the reader suspend disbelief to become another “you.”

Penulis harus meyakinkan pembaca untuk menjadi "kamu" yang lain.

Placing the reader in a character’s perspective

Menempatkan pembaca dalam sudut pandang sang karakter

can build urgency and suspense.

dapat membangun rasa urgensi dan ketegangan.

Sometimes, though,

Namun terkadang,

second person is intended to distance the narrator from their own story,

orang kedua dimaksudkan untuk menjauhkan narator dari kisahnya sendiri,

rather than bring the reader closer to the story.

alih-alih mendekatkan pembaca dengan kisahnya.

In these cases,

Dalam hal ini,

second person narrators refer to themselves as “you” rather than “I.”

narator orang kedua memanggil dirinya sendiri "kau" bukan "aku."

Writers are constantly experimenting with fresh variations on point of view.

Penulis terus bereksperimen dengan ragam baru sudut pandang.

New virtual and augmented reality technologies

Teknologi virtual dan realitas tertambah baru

may expand the possibilities for this experimentation.

dapat memperluas peluang eksperimen ini.

By placing people at a particular vantage point in virtual space,

Dengan menempatkan seseorang di titik pandang tertentu di ruang virtual,

how might we change the way we tell and experience stories?

bagaimana kita bisa mengubah cara berkisah dan menikmati cerita?