Question

If the narrator of a fictional piece is not a character in the story, which statement about the narrator is true?

The narrator of the work is always known as the speaker.
The narrator is the historical author of the piece.
The narrator speaks using an authorial voice.
The narrator will speak from a third-person point of view.

Answer 1

The correct statement is that the narrator will speak from a third-person point of view. This narrator offers an external perspective and could have varying degrees of knowledge about the characters' thoughts and actions, from limited to omniscient.

Step-by-step explanation:

If the narrator of a fictional piece is not a character in the story, then the true statement about the narrator is that they will speak from a third-person point of view. A narrator who is outside the story offers a perspective that may be limited to the knowledge of certain characters or that may be omniscient, having knowledge of all characters' thoughts and actions. It is crucial to distinguish between the narrator as a construct within the story and the historical author of the piece. They are not the same, though the author may choose to express their viewpoint through the narrator. The term speaker may apply more broadly to various narrative voices, including first-person narrators, so it is not exclusive to third-person narration.

Answer 2

The two in between are not the answer for they give unimportant detail. The first one is too specific with the "always". (Because the narrator of the work will not always be known as the speaker.) So by process of elimination, it should be the last one. If the narrator is not a part of the story, they will have no choice BUT to speak in third person.