MLA Sample Paper

an author [narrator] speaks in the present tense you get the
feeling that s/he doesn't know any more than you do about what's
happening"(Lyons 460). In contrast she says that the past tense
creates the assumption that the narrator "has sorted events out,
has a perspective on them, [and] has judged them in some
sense"(Lyons 460).
In "Big Bertha Stories" the use of the present tense allows
the reader to experience the action of the story as the
characters themselves experience it. Rather than the usual
filter we get from a traditional narrative we are presented with
a camera-eye view of the events. Information and events are
relayed in a mater-of-fact style, which effectively removes much
of the narrative attitude from these sections. Mason then adds
the character's attitude, in this story Jeanette's thoughts, to
create point of view. For example, on the opening lines we see
that: "Donald is home again, laughing and singing. He comes
home from Central City, Kentucky, near the strip mines, only
when he feels like it, like an absentee landlord checking on his
property" (655). The fist lines read much like a movie script,
an influence, which Mason quickly acknowledges. We see the
present action of Donald's return followed by information
telling us where he comes from and finally Jeanette's attitude
toward his return. The second sentence is a marriage of present
tense distance and character point of view.