Frank O’Connor wrote and published two versions of the story, “First
Confession”. The first version was written in limited omniscient point of view
and the second one was written in a first person point of view. I found after
reading both versions that the limited omniscient style was entertaining,
effective and more to my liking. The version written in omniscient style opens
and gives a quick description of the boy and his sister. It gives a short but
detailed description of the setting. It is written in such a manner that you can
almost see the boy being dragged through the crowded streets by his sister. Even
though it is brief, the description is vivid and lifelike. The bickering
conversation between the boy and his sister brings more reality to the story.
This leads up to the confessional scene. The first person version gives you more
detail and focuses on past events. It seems to be drawn out and tiresome. The
amusement of the other version was not there. This scene eventually leads up to
the walk to church for the boy’s confession. The confessional scene in the
first person was described clearly and simply. It showed the description of the
confessional box, detailed the young boys actions and related the conversation
between the priest and the boy. It was dry and straight to the point. The
limited omniscient version described the same events but in a humorous manner.
The events were presented in a comical way that made me laugh. You could almost
see the fear in the young boy’s eyes as he entered the confessional. His
thoughts about where he should sit and how he should act were shown with wit and
comedy. The boys confession to the priest was written with humor. It was
detailed and amusing at the same time. The endings of both versions of “First
Confession” were somewhat similar. I found each one showed what Jackie and
Nora were feeling. They both showed that Nora was upset with her brothers new
friendship with the priest and that Jackie was happy to be put before his sister
for once. The limited omniscient version showed more verbal contact between the
brother and sister. Their arguing was more animated because of the greater
amount of dialogue. Her dislike of the situation was plainly obvious in both
versions. Of the two, I likes the limited omniscient style the best. It told
more of a story using dialogue, humorous scenes and actions. Being a Catholic it
left more of an impression on me. The humor and point of view throughout the
story was entertaining and definitely made the story more effective.