Blog 2 How to Become a Writer

The point of view Lorrie Moore uses in How to Become a Writer gives the story a very sporadic read. The point of view that is used creates an uncommon tension. The tension that is created is between the narrator, Francie, and the other people in the story. The story would also be completely different if another point of view was used. The story may have flowed better but the story would have become dull.

            The narrator is telling the reader about her life and experiences. With this point of view the story becomes more personal and relatable. The narrator talks in such a way as if she is talking directly to the reader. She uses phrases like, “In your high school…” or “Your mother will come visit you…” (148). With a quick read it can be seen that the narrator is talk another person about their experiences, when in reality she is talking about herself in a sarcastic tone.

            The tension that is seen in the story because of this point of view is between the narrator and her classmates/teachers, herself and her mother. In multiple parts throughout the story, it is seen that the narrator’s classmates and teachers either disapprove or don’t care for how she writes. Francie turns a report into her teacher and this is his response, “Some of your images are quite nice, but you have no sense of plot.” (148). Later while she was at college her classmates responded similarly to her high school teacher. The classmates would say, “Much of your writing is smooth and energetic. You have, however, a ludicrous notion of plot.” The students respond in “its good but not”. In one case the narrator said, “After class someone asks you if you are crazy.” (149). After this, the narrator says, “Decide that perhaps you should stick to comedies.”(149). This shows that the narrator was being affected by all the comments she received about her writing making her question herself. There was even tension between Francie and her mother. Her mother tells her, “Francie Francie, remember when you were going to be a child psychology major?” (151). Her own mother was slightly disappointed that she was so focused on writing. However this didn’t stop Francie from continuing her writing.

     The story would have been a complete opposite if it was written in the perspective of the common disconnected narrator. The story would have turned into a biography about the struggles Francie faced to be a writer. The story would have definitely flowed much smoother and would not be as random and sporadic. This point of view keeps you reading because it is like a bunch of shorter stories in the short story.