Student Question
What point of view is Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt written in?
Quick answer:
The novel is written in the first-person protagonist point of view, narrated by the main character, Doug, who uses first-person pronouns like "I" and "me" to tell his story. Doug also addresses the reader directly using second-person pronouns, creating an interactive experience. This narrative style allows Doug to engage the reader, inviting them to be part of his journey while maintaining the first-person perspective throughout the novel.
Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now is narrated in what we call
first-person-protagonist point of view. This point of view is
told from the perspective of the main character who relays his/ her own story
using first-person pronouns like I and me.
We can tell the story is written in first person protagonist because the
protagonist Doug relays what happened to him as the story
unfolds. To do so, he uses pronouns like I and me. Examples
are seen all throughout the story, but one interesting example is the moment he
starts to become friends with Lil at the end of the first chapter. After Lil
challenges him to try to drink the coke she brings him in an uninterrupted
series of gulps, she makes him laugh by commenting on his Adam's apple. Doug
then relays the following events using first-person pronouns:
The fireworks exploded—and I...
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mean exploded.
Everything that was fizzing and bubbling and sparkling went straight up my nose and Coke started to come out all over the library steps and it wasn't just coming out my mouth. I'm not lying (Chapter 2).
What's fascinating is that Doug, as a narrator, treats his reader as an audience by occasionally addressing his reader using the second-person pronoun you. He has multiple purposes in doing so, but one of those purposes is to invite the reader into the story by creating a dialogue between himself and the reader. He particularly creates a dialogue whenever he challenges the reader to be interested in or believe his story. Multiple examples can be seen throughout, but one example is seen when he relays the outcome of the fights he was bullied into during the month of October:
Twelve near-fights. Probable record: Eight wins. Four losses. You don't believe me? So what? So what? (Chapter 5)
As we can see, by occasionally using second-person pronouns, Doug becomes a very interactive narrator; however, since he is still relaying his story from the perspective of I and me, he is still a first-person narrator.