A first-person povpoint of view reveals the story through an openly self-referential and participating narrator. First person creates a close relationship between the narrator and reader, by referring to the viewpoint character with first person pronouns like ''I'' and ''me'' (as well as ''we'' and ''us'', whenever the narrator is part of a larger group).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wyile|first=Andrea Schwenke|date=1999|title=Expanding the View of First-Person Narration|journal=Children's Literature in Education|language=en|volume=30|issue=3|pages=185–202|doi=10.1023/a:1022433202145|s2cid=142607561|issn=0045-6713}}</ref> That is, the narrator openly acknowledges their own existence. Frequently, the first-person narrator is the [[protagonist]], whose inner thoughts are expressed to the audience, even if not to any of the other characters. A first person narrator with a limited perspective is not able to witness or understand all facets of any situation. Thus, a narrator with this perspective will not be able to report the circumstances fully and will leave the reader with a subjective record of the plot details. Additionally, this narrator's character could be pursuing a hidden agenda or may be struggling with mental or physical challenges that further hamper their ability to tell the reader the whole, accurate truth of events. This form includes [[Free indirect speech|temporary first-person narration]] as a [[story within a story]], wherein a narrator or character observing the telling of a story by another is reproduced in full, temporarily and without interruption shifting narration to the speaker. The first-person narrator can also be the [[focal character]]. The viewpoint character is not necessarily the focal character: examples of supporting viewpoint characters include [[Doctor Watson]], Scout in ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird]]'', and Nick Carraway of ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''.
