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

翻译人员: Wanting Zhong 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

“I am an invisible man.”

“我是一个看不见的人。”

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

“达洛维夫人说她自己去买花。”

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

“ 你即将开始阅读 伊塔洛 · 卡尔维诺的新小说了。”

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

这三个开篇句子分别来自拉尔夫 · 埃里森 （Ralph Ellison）的《看不见的人》，

Virginia Woolf’s "Mrs. Dalloway,"

弗吉尼亚 · 伍尔夫（Virginia Woolf）的 《达洛维夫人》，

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

和伊塔洛 · 卡尔维诺（Italo Calvino）的 《如果在冬夜，一个旅人》，

each establish a different point of view.

每句都建立起了 一个不同的叙述视角。

Who is telling a story, and from what perspective,

谁在讲述故事， 又是从什么视角叙事，

are some of the most important choices an author makes.

是一名作者要做出的 最重要的几个选择。

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

不同的叙述视角能让 故事的情节发生翻天覆地的变化。

Take this fairytale:

以这个童话故事为例：

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

“ 莴苣姑娘，莴苣姑娘，” 王子喊道，“ 放下你的长发。”

Rapunzel unbraided her hair and slung it out the window.

莴苣姑娘解开了她的发辫， 将它垂出窗外。

The prince climbed her tresses into the tower.

王子沿着她的发绺爬到了塔里。

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

《莴苣姑娘》一般是这样讲的， 叙述者置身于故事之外。

This point of view is called third person.

这种叙述视角叫做第三人称视角。

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

但《莴苣姑娘》也能 由故事中的角色来讲述——

a first person narrator.

即第一人称视角。

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

莴苣姑娘的发尾 扑通地掉在我的脚边。

I grabbed on and began to climb… ugh!

我抓住了头发，开始攀爬……呃！

I couldn’t untangle myself.

我被缠住没法脱身了。

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

发丝落了我一身， 被身上的汗渍黏住。

In a first person narrative, the story can change dramatically

在第一人称叙事中， 根据叙述角色的不同，

depending on which character is the narrator.

故事情节就能发生戏剧性的变化。

Say Rapunzel was narrating instead of the prince:

比如说，莴苣姑娘在叙事， 而不是王子：

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

我希望他能体谅 解开八米长的发辫要花多少时间。

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

好痛！说实话，我觉得我的头皮 都要被从头盖骨上扯下来了。

"Can you climb any faster?" I yelled.

“ 你能不能爬快一点？” 我大喊道。

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

在第二人称叙事中， 叙述者是在对读者说话：

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

他喊了你的名字。 他想让你把头发放下来。

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

你才刚刚梳完辫子，不过嘛—— 来探望你的人确实没几个。

Third person, first person, and second person perspectives

第三人称、第一人称 和第二人称视角

each have unique possibilities and constraints.

各有其独特的可能性与限制。

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

那么你该怎样为你的故事 选择叙述视角呢？

Constraints aren’t necessarily a bad thing—

限制并不一定就是坏事——

they can help focus a story or highlight certain elements.

它们能让故事的焦点更明确， 或者突出某些要素。

For example,

比如，

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

一个第三人称叙述者 必然会离角色有些许疏远。

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

但对于一个距离感很重要的故事， 这样的选择大有裨益。

A third person narrator can be either limited,

一个第三人称叙述者 可以是有限的，

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

也就是说只紧跟 某一个角色的想法与感受，

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

也可以通过“上帝视角”， 在不同角色的想法之间跳跃，

and give the reader more information.

给读者提供更多信息。

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

第一人称视角的故事能在读者 与叙述者之间制造出亲密感，

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

但也受限于叙述者本身拥有的信息。

This can create suspense

这能让读者同角色一起 逐渐发现信息，

as the reader finds out information along with the character.

从而制造悬念。

A first person narrator doesn’t necessarily

第一人称叙述者

并不一定要忠实地 反映角色的经历——

have to represent the character’s experience faithfully—

they can be delusional or dishonest.

他们可以妄想，也可以说谎。

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

在石黑一雄的小说《长日留痕》 （"The Remains of the Day"）中，

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

史蒂芬斯是 1956 年 一位日渐老去的英国管家，

他回忆了自己多年的服务，

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

却未能承认自己侍奉的主人的缺点。

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

他叙述中的裂痕 最终让读者注意到了

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

他所居住的文化与阶级系统中 未经正视的缺陷。

he inhabits.

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

贾斯汀·托雷斯（Justin Torres）的小说 《我们这些动物》（“We the Animals”）

begins with a plural first person narrator:

由第一人称复数的叙述视角开篇：

“We were six snatching hands, six stomping feet;

“ 我们是六只争抢的手， 六只狠跺的脚；

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

我们是三兄弟，是小男孩，是三个 为抢夺更多而结下仇隙的小霸王。”

Partway through the story, the point of view shifts

故事进行到一半时， 叙述视角转变成了第一人称单数：

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

随着男孩们长大， 其中一个少年觉得与另两人疏远，

and one brother feels alienated from the others.

叙述者也从“我们”变成了“我”。

Second person is a less common choice.

第二人称视角 是一个更为少见的选择。

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

它要求作者让读者放下置疑， 化身为另一个 “你”。

Placing the reader in a character’s perspective

令读者置身于某个角色的视角

can build urgency and suspense.

能制造紧迫感和悬念。

Sometimes, though,

然而有时候，

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

使用第二人称是为了 让叙述者远离他们自己的故事，

rather than bring the reader closer to the story.

而不是要缩短读者与故事的距离。

In these cases,

在这种情况下，

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

第二人称叙述者指代他们自己时 会使用 “你”，而不是 “我”。

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

作家们在不断试验 叙述视角的新鲜变体。

New virtual and augmented reality technologies

新的虚拟现实和增强现实技术

may expand the possibilities for this experimentation.

或许能为这些尝试 拓展出更多可能性。

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

通过让人们置身于 虚拟空间中的特定视点，

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

我们能如何改变 讲述与体验故事的方式？