first point of view and the problem of opinion
Is it better for first person POV to be treated in the same way as third person POV meaning that the POV person withholds opinions? (So the reader can form them?) Or is it okay to establish conflict via first person POV opinions? Is that a sloppy method?
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1 answer
As others have explained, if a story is written in first person, the readers expect to be privy to the POV character's opinions, thoughts and feelings. This is true of third person limited too, and even an omniscient narrator would get into characters' heads.
However, this does not preclude the readers from forming their own opinions. They might, after all, disagree with the POV character's evaluation of a situation, or even their approach to the main conflict. The POV character might well be mistaken about something, and perhaps be made to pay for their mistake.
There is nothing underhanded about using the POV character's inner thoughts to fuel conflict. It is, in fact, quite commonly done. Consider, for example, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: the source of the main conflict is the main characters' mistaken opinions of each other.
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