6. How does a difference between the reader’s point of view and the characters’ points of view affect the story?
(Story is as follows:
As soon as Hector heard the bell ring, he leaped out of his seat and was halfway to his locker before the rest of his
classmates had even gathered their belongings. He hastily opened his locker. His mind racing, he could not
remember what he needed to bring home with him for homework that night. He dropped all of his books and
binders into his backpack and half-walked, half-jogged down the hall to the theater room. Hector took a deep
breath, clenched his fists, and strode to the door, but the list was not there. His shoulders sunk under the weight
of unfulfilled expectations and one hundred pounds of textbooks. He retreated across the hall and slid down to the
floor to wait.
“Hector, Hector, what does it say? Am I on the list? I cannot cope with another semester of stage crew when I was
born for the stage!” Hector’s friend Alana came bouncing down the hallway, displaying a chaotic energy. Alana was
juggling her bag, several paperback books, and a giant water bottle. Per usual she was a mass of frazzled nerves
and tangled hair. Alana dramatically marched to the door, saw that nothing was posted, and sank back against a
locker. “It’s not there! How can that be when we finished auditions ages ago and Mr. Thacker swore that he would
have the list up by 4:00 p.m. today? I just don’t think I can wait much longer to find out if I am in the show!” Alana
ranted, to anyone in the hall or within twenty feet of the door.
Hector had to chuckle under his breath. He thought he had been anxious, but Alana took things to a new level.
“Alana, it’s only 3:50. School just got out! We’re the only ones here. I’m sure Mr. Thacker will be here any minute.”
Hector had become a master at reassuring Alana.
Alana sighed heavily. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I am just so nervous, excited, and scared that I barely
slept a wink last night. I could not wait to get to school today, and then my classes dragged on forever!” Alana
paced in front of the door as she spoke and distractedly twisted her long, tight curls around her blue-sparkled
pointer finger.
Hector allowed his bulging backpack to slide to the floor and stood up to comfort Alana before she hit full panic
mode. “Alana, you have nothing to worry about, I am positive that you will be on the list. Your audition was
awesome. I am sure you got a part!” As Hector reassured Alana, his own doubts resurfaced and butterflies filled his
stomach. He was not so sure about his own chances of being on the list, but he was good at veiling his true
feelings.
Hector followed Alana as she continued to pace. Soon, the hallway was filled with more students excitedly waiting
for the list. Unexpectedly, the hallway acquired a jovial atmosphere. Students stood in tight circles, goofing around
and reenacting their audition pieces. Many of the kids were Hector’s friends, and some slapped him on the back to
wish him luck. Izzy and Will, who had also worked on the stage crew last year, joined Hector and Alana.
“Wow Alana, you look like you‘re going to be sick!” Will exclaimed when he saw Alana’s pale face. “Do you want
me to take you to the nurse’s office?” he asked.
Alana swallowed hard and replied, “I am fine, thanks, Will. I just want a part so badly, and all this waiting is driving
me crazy!”
Izzy wrapped her arm around Alana’s back, gave her a comforting squeeze, and said, “If you don’t get a part, we
can still do stage crew together. We will have such a good time you won’t care that you didn’t get a part.”
Suddenly, the hallway got really loud and Hector realized that Mr. Thacker had walked out and was posting the list.
Mr. Thacker waved his hands above his head. “Quiet down, everybody, quiet down!” he called out. “Listen up, I
have posted the list. These were tough auditions and it was extremely difficult to assign roles this year, but I think

we’ve got it right and this year’s show will be a smashing success!” As soon as he finished his speech, Mr. Thacker
ducked back into his classroom, and chaos followed as forty students tried to get to the list at once.
“Hector, can you look for me? I can’t bear to look. If I didn’t get a part, I will cry and embarrass myself in front of
everyone. Will you please just check for me?” Alana pleaded.
Hector nodded and turned to face the door. His stomach lurched. He realized he had been sweating but was
determined to stay calm. He waited a minute for the crowd to thin, and then wiggled his way through to the front.
“Nice, dude!” his buddy called as he passed by. When he got to the list, Hector instantly spotted his name and
happiness surged through him. He quickly scanned down the list and was even more excited to see that Alana had
gotten a part too. Hector quickly walked around the crowd and saw Izzy and Will trying to divert Alana’s attention
by telling her a funny story.
“You got a part, Alana! We both did!” he shouted as soon as he saw them.
Alana covered her hands with her face and squealed. She began jumping up and down, clapping with glee. The
difficult wait was over, and now the real work would begin.)