Narration of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Running Head: NARRATION OF “THE LOTTERY”
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NARRATION OF “THE LOTTERY”

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Narration of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

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Introduction

Most people often have something to gain when they opt to speak, and hence it is important to be critical on what they say. After understanding what they attempt to communicate, one can draw conclusions from various viewpoints. Different stories are narrated in first-person description or third-person description, which affects the response to what we hear or read. First-person description is not effective because the narrator does not look into the thoughts of its characters, thus leaving the reader only viewing the circumstances through one’s perceptiveness. In other words, it means that a story narrated by another author can definitely be viewed as different when narrated by another person. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story that is a much exciting to think about as it is to read since the author uses some kind of foreshadowing, irony and profound themes. This paper is meant to justify that the story would be affected if narrated by a narrator with different interests, different knowledge and different purposes.

Within a specific theoretical perspective, Jackson does not use classic texts or long-established varieties to narrate it, but instead she uses a concept that critically discuss her modern society and beyond. A narrator with different purposes, interests and knowledge can affect the meaning of this story because he or she can use other new concepts which can confuse the reader. From the beginning, the story hold back on revelation of what is occurring so it is vital that Jackson uses foreshadowing to prepare the reader(Jackson, 2008). In every narration, it is important to ensure that the reader feel the cohesion of the story in manners that are simple to miss in the first reading. A different narrator could make the story to be more like unpredictable than it does a twist.

The basic idea of the lottery as illustrated by the author, is that lottery is a good thing in our society, which is absolutely an irony. This means that a narrator with different interests and viewpoints can lean on our side of the story depending on whether he or she supports lottery, further affecting the subject of the story. This is contrary to Shirley’s intention because she used the idea of irony and foreshadowing to keep the reader from understanding the basic subject of the story. It is more likely that a different narrator can affect the setting and tone of this story in respect to the interests and motives. Basically, the opening sequence that Jackson uses is much friendly based on how she illustrate the activities in the village. To attract the attention of the reader, it is important to note that Jackson uses a relaxing setting with a rough idea of the reality with the lottery. She tells events in the story systematically with a tone that help readers to recognize the uniqueness of the cruel acts caused amongst lottery (Jackson, 2008).

Since Shirley Jackson uses a third person point of view to narrate “The Lottery”, it means that a different narrator would use a first person point of view, thus leaving the reader only viewing the circumstances through one’s perceptiveness. In fact, Jackson narrates the story with minor details of a lottery occurring, but what concern the reader is that she leaves the most significant parts until the conclusion, therefore leaving the reader with unrequited questions and thoughts (Boddy, 2010). Shirley’s point of view is an appropriate way of narrating this story as it helps integrate the surprise that occurs in the end. Ultimately, she provides clues of information to the reader through the discussions and actions of the villagers without providing the final twist.

Conclusion

In point of fact, there is always an intention of people when they attempt to communicate something, henceforth there is need to critically contemplate what they are trying to communicate. A story narrated by another author can definitely be viewed as different when narrated by another person. Based on this argument, it is worth mentioning that “The Lottery” as narrated by Shirley Jackson would be affected if narrated by a narrator with different interests, knowledge and purposes. The story is saturated with irony, symbolism and a clear considerate of how to narrate a story as well as disposition to embrace argument.
References

Boddy, K. (2010). The American short story since 1950. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Jackson, S. (2008). The lottery. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.