Notes on “Miss Harriet’s Room”

Point o f View

· An autobiography is told from the writer’s perspective, or point of view. The first-person point of view reflects only the writer’s thoughts, feelings, opinions, and biases.

· The third-person point of view can be used to reflect the opinions, feelings, thoughts, and biases of multiple characters.

· Third-person limited point of view is limited to the experience and consciousness of single character.

· Third-person omniscient point of view is told by an all-knowing narrator who understands and can reveal the thoughts and feeling of all characters.

Characterization

· The details about Miss Harriet’s class show what kind of teacher she is.

· Characterization is the author’s development of characters.

· Byars characterizes Miss Harriet by the activities she arranges and by her power to change family customs.

Autobiography

· The first-person I tells you that author Betsy Byars is relating something that happened to her. This type of writing in which authors tell about events in their own lives is called Autobiography.

Character

· Character is revealed by what people in a story do, think, and say; what other say about them; and how others interact with them.

· Byar’s character is revealed through her thoughts.

Author’s Purpose

· Byars probably had three purposes in mind for including “Miss Harriet’s Room” in her autobiography.

o Her writing is entertaining, for example, when she creates suspense about whether she will be allowed to stay in Miss Harriet’s room.

o She is providing information about her formation as a reader/writer and about first grade in the 1930s.

o She tries to persuade readers about the kind of education that she feels is valuable, and particularly about the role of good literature in a child’s early school experience.