Second Person Narrative

[AnRoinnUltra]

Beginner question -what is a good example of second person narrative? Have I this wrong or is second person narrative something like those 'choose your own adventure' books along the lines of 'you see a hobbeldonger with a numbontical axe, and flee with the family jewels'? I'm probably missing something more obvious -all advice appreciated (thought I had second person clear in my head but now it's gone murky).

 

[Yozh]

Yes, that's exactly what it is. Second person is "you."

 

[msstice]

Is there a well known work that is in second person? I don't think I've ever read anything in second person. It has to be largely present continuous, and I could see that getting awkward.

You fumble with the key. The snoring had just stopped a few seconds ago. The dragon was awake. Soon it would hear the frantic jangling of your key chain. Soon it will slither its way through the catacombs. Soon you must find the right key and open the door. But will it be the right door. You will soon find out.

 

[sule]

Bright Lights, Big City is the novel I see mentioned the most with second person. N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season has sections written in second person.

A quick google tells me there are a number of short stories written in second person: "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, "The Night" by Ray Bradbury among them. "Sundance" by Robert Silverberg might be worth a look - it has some sections of second person as well as first and third, so you can analyze what second person can/can't do in comparison.

 

[HareBrain]

I've used long second-person sections twice (once in The Goddess Project), for the narrator to relate the POV's past experiences back to them (rather than as a third-person flashback). It seems to work well for that, though I couldn't tell you exactly why it does.

 

[AnRoinnUltra]

Thanks all for all the replies, think I have it (the young fella was asking me and I couldn't really give an example -'the second person is you' is a good thing to tell him).

"The Night" by Ray Bradbury

Don't know that, time to have a look -great stuff.

once in The Goddess Project

Thanks, will check it out.

 

[Fiberglass Cyborg]

"Halting State" by Charles Stross is all in 2nd person, with mulitple protagonists who take turns being "you." It works, somehow. It helps that the story involves a computer game company, so 2nd person is at least thematically appropriate....

 

[msstice]

involves a computer game company, so 2nd person is at least thematically appropriate

There are first person games and third person games. I've never played a second person game.

 

[Yozh]

Undertale is a popular second-person game.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

I've used second person several times in novels. I think it works well in small doses. If you introduce a character for a short time to serve a specific purpose, it can be fun to put the reader into the persona of that character. Iain Banks does it very well with the serial killer in Complicity, for example. As with Banks, I tend to switch to the present tense for the second person narrative. Here is an example:

The hour is late when you leave the tavern and begin walking up the hill to the camp of your legion. You stumble, and curse loudly, but there are few in the street to hear you. The wine flowed freely this night, as it has on many nights since your return from Teshka. You are a hero in Ephirum; a Foreign Legionnaire, saviour of the Empire, and soon you will go west and gain yet more glory. But now you must climb the steep slope to your camp, and that is challenging enough for one so full of wine.

As you walk through the silk district a girl steps out from a dark doorway and hails you. You are a handsome boy, she says. It is true - not just flattery from one who seeks your coin. Many women have said it - many women have sought pleasure with you, and not only for profit. Even your comrades tease you, promising that one day an enemy's sword will spoil your face. Well, the Khan's warriors could not do it, at least.

Now the girl has approached you, and you see that she too is beautiful. Not blemished, like so many of her sisters plying their trade in the silk district. Not too old, not gap-toothed, not lame, not grubby, not smelly. If you had not had so much wine you would be suspicious. If you had not had so much wine.

The second person is an incidental character discarded after a few paragraphs. But he is witness to an event that significantly moves the storyline of the novel. Thats the way I like to use it.

 

[HareBrain]

I've never played a second person game.

You might be too young. Text adventures back in the day ("You are in a cave. An axe is here.") were all in second.

 

[msstice]

You might be too young. Text adventures back in the day ("You are in a cave. An axe is here.") were all in second.

Interesting take. I always thought of this as an NPC (the narrator) talking to you, while you took actions, like talking to a NPC in a first person game. This is related to (perhaps descends from) the Dungeons and Dragons kind of gaming, which I suppose you could think of as second person.

 

[Christine Wheelwright]

I think use of second person in a role-playing-game (say Dungeons and Dragons) and its use in prose are really completely different things.

 

[msstice]

I think use of second person in a role-playing-game (say Dungeons and Dragons) and its use in prose are really completely different things.

I never thought about the connection between text-adventure type situations (or D&D type gaming) and second person narratives, but @HareBrain has (almost) converted me.

This is an interactive story (you influence the paths and outcomes). The text comes from a gamemaster who is not an NPC, because they don't take part as a character in the game. They play the role of narrator. The interactive story is narrated in second person.

The thing that muddies the water for me is that the narrator can sometimes respond to your questions with an "I don't understand ..." which breaks some wall somewhere, bringing the narrator into the story.

Add. For someone not familiar with ye olde text adventures, here is a snippet from a run of Zork

>walk east
Behind House
You are behind the white house. In one corner of the house there is a small window which is slightly ajar.

>open window
With great effort, you open the window far enough to allow entry.

>enter house
Kitchen
You are in the kitchen of the white house. A table seems to have been used recently for the preparation of food. A passage leads to the west and a dark staircase can be seen leading upward. To the east is a small window which is open.
On the table is an elongated brown sack, smelling of hot peppers.
A bottle is sitting on the table.
The glass bottle contains:
A quantity of water

 

[Elckerlyc]

I once wrote a short story in second person about a young boy, about 8 years old, who walked from home to nearby barracks in the city because he wanted to join the army. It became an adventure he hadn't exactly imagined when he left home. Luckily he had a pocket full with licorice, which gave him the courage to 'soldier on'.
I actually wrote this with someone in mind, though meanwhile a bit older than 8; a friend who got drafted and had organised a goodbye party, at which occasion I read it (to him and everyone attending).
I still believe it's the best story I ever wrote. Just meaning to say; it can work and doesn't have to be awkward.