For class, we read Maile Meloy's "Ranch Girl." The short story is told in the 2nd person voice (using "You" as opposed to "I" or "he, she.")
How does this choice on the writer's part affect your experience as a reader?
What happens when a story is told in the 2nd person?
Have you experienced a story before that works in the same way?
Please remember to use the comments as a place to converse with your classmates, and not simply post a reaction.
Since this was written in 2nd person, it made me feel as if the "ranch girl" was speaking directly to me about her own experiences. I felt like I was part of the story.
ReplyDeleteEven though my life is completely different than the ranch girl's I felt like I could relate to her a little bit because of the second point of view.
Me too.
DeleteI think the author wrote the story in second person for that exact reason. Personally, I hate listening to people complain about their lives at length, which is exactly what the writer did. However, because she wrote it in second person and you could imagine like you were the one in the story, it holds the readers attention.
DeleteAs a reader, the writers choice to have the story written in second person was strange to me. I do not like things written in second person because it is rare for a reason. I think it is strange when a writter says "you" and makes assumptions somehow about "your" emotions and thoughts. I have encountered few peices written in the second person and I do not really like the style of writting.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of this style of writing either, but it does give you a unique perspective on the story because it puts you closer to the narrator. I think it's a "walk in someone else's shoes" kind of style. It's more raw and realistic than romantic or poetic, and I think that's exactly what the author was aiming for.
DeleteThe writer's choice to present the piece in the second person voice made me see the story as if the events that were taking place were happening to me. When a story is told in second person it either tries to tell the story as if you are the character or as if the narrator is addressing you. I have read stories with the latter but never the former, other than this piece, that I can recall.
ReplyDeleteUsing the "you" form of telling the story makes you closer to the narrator and it doeesnt give you a picture of what the narrator is like. It makes you think that the narrator is talking to you specificly and making you apart of the story. When the story is told in 2nd person it states that its hard to leave or hard to stay and its hard to make decisions. If it was told from different point of view it will give you a different perspective of the story.
ReplyDeleteI was really confsued at first I thought it was talking to me, like you should do this, and I was annoyed. But she complained so much it was hard for me to enjoy the story at all.
ReplyDeleteI also felt confused at the start because as a reader you do not often read a story written in 2nd person. It was not enjoyful for me even though I did feel more connected to the story. Just because I felt connected does not mean I enjoyed because the story to me was boring and the she complained the whole time. Nothing was good enough to satisfy her needs and wants.
DeleteThe writes choice of telling this story in second person really adds to the reader’s connection with the characters. You become closer with the character and start to sympathize with her. Finding a story that was told in second person was kind of different to read but neat at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with a lot about what other people have said. I think that making the story in second person puts you in the story and makes you feel like it is happening to you. It doesn't necessarily make me relate more to the story because I'm not a ranch girl, however, it does help me to picture the story better and feel like I am a part of it. It is hard to describe exactly how the 2nd person style makes me react differently than 1st person, it just does and I can't explain it fully. This is similar to that short essay about different dialects and saying "the clothes need packed." That sentence sounds alright to me but to people who it doesn't sound ok to can't really describe why.
ReplyDeleteThis was my first time experiencing the second person point of view and to be honest, I did not enjoy it. The way the writer continued to use the phrase 'Imagine you...' got on my nerves a bit, and it made the story way more complicated than it needed to be. Unlike the first and third person point of view, this style of writing made the story almost feel 'fake' to me. The style was not able to hold my interest because I felt the writer was unable to pull me in and make me interested with what the story was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteWhen a story is written in the second person, it makes you feel as if you are in the story and are one with the characters. When reading "Ranch Girl" I felt as if I was on the ranch with the narrator and went through all the struggles she went through on a daily basis. When reading first or third person stories I feel as if I am just witnessing what has happened, but when it come to second person I feel as if I am there and experiencing everything the characters are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteI feel as how Matt feels I think the second person point of view connects you with the story more and puts you in the story as if what goes on happens to you. Instead of you just reading and reacting to the story it is as if you are there experiencing it.
DeleteEven though these things are not likely to happen in my life, when I read this story I started to contraction those scenes in my mind. The method of using the second person voice is not common and actually I do not enjoy being "you", because it is quite strange for me to "experience" or to imagine those things that are totally contradictory to what my life is like. Some people may enjoy this 2nd person tone, but I can only say that every story or article write in such a "you" makes me confused.
ReplyDeleteIt’s very interesting when reading a story narrative in 2nd person. Like Bojana said, I also feel like I was part of the story. The author seems to tell me about my experience, which I have forgotten because some reasons, and she helps me recall this memory. So it makes story more authentic, and audiences might are curious about what would happen on “them” in the book.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very different experience reading a story told in 2nd person because it's almost like they're talking directly at you. This was my first time reading a short story in 2nd person. The story bothered me because the main character complains so much about her life and how she wants it to be like. I was able to understand where she was coming from, but it was hard for me to feel sympathetic toward her because she was so pessimistic towards everything in her life.
ReplyDeleteIt's very familiar to me that a story used 2nd person because I read some novels written in 2nd person and sometimes I will also use 2nd person in my own paper. I think the advantage of this format is that it is easy to attract readers to put themselves into the story. And for writer, this format is also better for the writer to think how to communicate with readers during writting process. I'm the person who easily go into the role in story when I see the 2nd person in a story.So when I see the 2nd person here, I feel clear about the suffer and struggling the ranch girl did.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone saying that a story written in 2nd person makes you feel as though you are part of the story rather than a listener. I think that stories written in the 2nd person perspective are more effective in making the reader feel the same emotions that the writer attempts to convey because it forces the audience to relate what happens to the ranch girl in the story to events in their own lives. The perspective used in Ranch Girl helps get the point across that her life has been a struggle, and the story was not simply written to complain about difficulty in choosing a ranch or city life.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that this story was written in second person threw me off when I started reading this story. It was like nothing I had ever read before. But, after a few paragraphs I found my place and began to enjoy this writing style. The 2nd person makes you feel like the characters are talking to you and makes you a part of the story. With the second person the author force emotions on the readers that make it enjoyable and very real to read
ReplyDeleteBeing as rare as it is, reading something in 2nd person is personally enjoyable but as for "Ranch Girl",I got a little confused at times and others just straight up annoyed. Even though this 2nd person point of view does invite the reader into the actually events of the story, it can distract the reader and limit the overall effect the meaning of the writing has on the reader.
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