Second Person Narration
Feb. 19th, 2003 12:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
vaznettiOr, further Haven issues. I raised this problem in a feedback letter; the author opened up the question on the Haven, but as I tend not to go there (except for the specific purpose of watching slapfights) I thought I might as well discuss it here. I know that some people who read this will have already posted there--sorry. Feel free to repost here, or not. The Haven thread is here. I'm not sure that I'm the supposed "inexperienced reader" of the responses, but it's true that I've never written in second person. It does seem to me that in my rather limited view of the world I've seen more second-person narration in fanfic recently (over, say, the last six months). It feels a bit like a fad to me.
The following two paragraphs are an edited version of my feedback letter:
I have to admit that I don't care for second-person narration. I find it intrusive, I think: that is, I happen to know for a fact that I am not the character, and I do not feel the things that the character feels, and so I have no idea why I am being expected to read as if I were the character. And so I become disconcerted. I usually manage by mentally replacing the second person pronouns with third person pronouns in my head, and read it as a tightly focalized third-person. Oddly enough, it ends up distancing me from the piece, probably because of the mental gymnastics I need to put myself through.
I find it easier to read in certain cases, for example if there's a strongly implied "I" narrator to match the "you" of the story. I can see why it might be used in other cases, as well, for instance where the identity of the second-person narrator is kept secret. The authors who use second-person narration tend to be fairly talented, and I'm certainly capable of sitting back and trusting them. I'm just not sure why a second-person is superior to a tightly-focalized third person narration, and can't help feeling that it's a piece of overt manipulation by an author.
I'd welcome responses by authors who use the second person and readers who like it as well as anyone else out there who finds it difficult. Or, you know, whoever wants to comment.
The following two paragraphs are an edited version of my feedback letter:
I have to admit that I don't care for second-person narration. I find it intrusive, I think: that is, I happen to know for a fact that I am not the character, and I do not feel the things that the character feels, and so I have no idea why I am being expected to read as if I were the character. And so I become disconcerted. I usually manage by mentally replacing the second person pronouns with third person pronouns in my head, and read it as a tightly focalized third-person. Oddly enough, it ends up distancing me from the piece, probably because of the mental gymnastics I need to put myself through.
I find it easier to read in certain cases, for example if there's a strongly implied "I" narrator to match the "you" of the story. I can see why it might be used in other cases, as well, for instance where the identity of the second-person narrator is kept secret. The authors who use second-person narration tend to be fairly talented, and I'm certainly capable of sitting back and trusting them. I'm just not sure why a second-person is superior to a tightly-focalized third person narration, and can't help feeling that it's a piece of overt manipulation by an author.
I'd welcome responses by authors who use the second person and readers who like it as well as anyone else out there who finds it difficult. Or, you know, whoever wants to comment.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-20 11:36 am (UTC)Heh, it's a bit of an open secret in the LJ community. My "official" webhome is my blog, and I usually just use this identity to read & comment on other people's LJs. I remember you from XF, though, so I hope you don't mind I added you to my friends list. Dunnett fans need to stick together. *g*
when I got to the point where everything fell into place and I suddenly identified the second-person I was very impressed. It made me happy
Makes me happy to make you happy. Thank you.
The problem for me was that after that I went into my bizarre gymnastic reading game to separate myself as reader from Crichton as narrator/actor; that made the second half of the story less enjoyable for me as a reader. It made my head hurt, too
See, that's where we part company. I think I must be a freak, because I read second person very much like first person: it's me the reader inhabiting the narrator. If the voice is done right, I'm right in there, gliding along with the story. Maayan's "Sleep While I Drive" would be a good example of that for me. I guess I don't read second person as imposing on me that way. It's not a command.
But different genres are manipulative in different ways, and each reader has his or her own comfort level for manipulation
True enough. I'm more comfortable when the manipulation is by way of the character hiding information from himself/others than when it's obviously the writer cutting away in order to hide information from the reader. Something like the famous "Mulder, I'm fine." line in "Strangers and the Strange Dead" didn't strike me as too manipulative because once I thought about it, it worked with where the character was at the moment. And the narrator was as misled as the reader was.
My case study for Overt Manipulation is Guy Gavriel Kay, who's been far too obvious in his recent novels about cutting away from action in order to hide important information from the reader. Because he's working in traditional omniscient perspective, it's very obvious what's going on, and I end up angry and resentful. Not the desired effect, I fear.
Thanks for the good discussion.