# Reasons why a story might be told in 2nd-person **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2014, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996 "2014-07-25T04:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/21 "2014-07-31T23:47:35Z")
One of my campers a few weeks ago said he intends some day to write a book with sections in first, second, and third persons, because every elementary school English teacher is guaranteed to buy copies for their class. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/22 "2014-08-01T02:04:28Z")
You awake suddenly. It’s the middle of the night. Was there a noise? Perhaps. A flash of light? Yes, maybe. What was the source? Suddenly both light and noise explode and you realize that that’s what it was before, too. You recoil because it is much more terrifying awake than it was unconscious. You cringe, but realize that you cannot close your eyes or your ears–it is too jarring, too threatening. What is happening? Okay, that’s crappy writing, but I think that it’s a good device for putting the 2nd person into a future, fantasy experience. Similarly it could be used to induce empathy around a situation, and such. I’ve only rarely used the device because it’s hard to maintain, but there are times when it’s justified other than in the OP’s suggested ways. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/23 "2014-08-01T06:03:36Z")
_Homestuck_ is told mainly in the second person. Initially the device is used like a role-playing game, but it soon becomes a way to jump into the point of view of different characters. For example: > [@](#): > > Your name is JOHN. As was previously mentioned it is your BIRTHDAY. A number of CAKES are scattered about your room. You have a variety of INTERESTS. You have a passion for REALLY TERRIBLE MOVIES. You like to program computers but you are NOT VERY GOOD AT IT. You have a fondness for PARANORMAL LORE, and are an aspiring AMATEUR MAGICIAN. You also like to play GAMES sometimes. John receives a beta copy of a game on his birthday, and plays with three friends who also have it, causing the end of the world. It gets more complicated. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/24 "2014-08-01T22:16:15Z")
Metafiction. Italo Calvino’s \*If on a winter’s night a traveler \* begins “You are about to start reading Italo Calvino’s \*If on a winter’s night a traveler \*…” and is about, sort of, the process of You reading. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/25 "2014-08-02T01:16:22Z")
The couple of times I wrote in second person, I found it super effective in conveying a sense of helplessness. Must have been all of those passive verbs. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/26 "2014-08-02T16:33:12Z")
[Keith Roberts’ novel Molly Zero](http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/03/an-odd-dystopia-keith-robertss-lemgmolly-zerolemg) is written entirely in the second person present tense. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/27 "2014-08-02T19:40:02Z")
O > [@MsJinx](#): > > I was just thinking of this recently, and IIRC: > > Tom Robbins - Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas It is written that way, but “you” are a specific character that the author is asking the reader to inhabit. Not being, myself, a female Asian-American stock analyst, the device just became a surrogate for first or third person narrative, with plenty of third-person anecdotes to fill in the backstory. One that I failed to finish because the second-person narrative – the primary character is talking to you and responding to your reactions – became too distracting was _The Fall_, by Camus. The story just was not enough to draw me in past the mode. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2014, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996/28 "2014-08-03T02:05:52Z")
A couple of days ago, **Daily Science Fiction** published “Ten Wretched Things About Influenza Sedariis” (it will be posted on their web page next week), which is in the second person. It’s very effective, since it sounds like it’s a informational guide and does put the reaer into the shoes of the main character. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reasons-why-a-story-might-be-told-in-2nd-person/693996.md?page=1)