If the story is told from the vantage point of someone outside the story, we call it third person point of view. If the story is seen from a limited vantage point of only one character, we call it third person limited point of view. All out attention is focused on this one character.
A writer can also use the first person point of view. This means that one of the characters tells the story. The narrator can be the protagonist or a minor character who is observing the action. This speaker speaks as “I”. When a story is told in the first person (by one of the characters), we know only what that character reports to us and we have to depend on that character’s reliability as an observer and reporter. The advantage of this point of view is that it creates a sense of intimacy and closeness to the action.
To analyze the point of view in a story, ask these questions: Who is the narrator of this story? Is this narrator a character in the story, or does the character stand outside the story? Does the narrator know about all the action and characters in the story, or is the narrator’s view limited to one character only? How does the point of view affect my reaction to the story’s characters and events?
There is a difference also between point of view and perspective. Perspective is what a particular character understands. In Before the End of Summer, the point of view is third person limited. The perspective is that of a young boy who is frightened by the approaching death of his grandmother. And remember not to confuse point of view with viewpoint, which is another word for “opinion.”