Summary Of The Lottery: An Unreliable Narrator
* Withheld information
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story that withholds information. The withheld piece of information is what the lottery actually is. The lottery is an annual tradition where the people pick a piece of paper out of a box and the one who picks the piece of paper with a black dot is stoned to death. The author, however, does not reveal what happens after the papers are picked until the end of the story. The withholding of information makes the reader wonder what the lottery is and this creates suspense. This in turn keeps the reader absorbed in the story.
* Unreliable narrator
The story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe has an unreliable narrator. The narrator is unreliable because Montresor is paranoid
and crazy. An example of Montresor being paranoid is when he exaggerates the amount of times Fortunato hurt him. Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 636). It is obvious that he is overstating the amount of times he was hurt. This makes readers wonder whether other things he said are true or if they are also false. An example of Montresor being crazy is when he traps and consequently kills Fortunato in the catacombs. Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall and then builds a brick wall, preventing him from being discovered. Both of these examples show that Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he is paranoid and crazy. The use of an unreliable narrator allows Poe to create an interesting short story by twisting the truth. This makes the reader question whether the narrator is saying the truth or is lying and it increases the suspense of the story.
* Shocking twist
An example of a story that employs a shocking twist is also “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The shocking twist was the revealing of what the lottery was. Right before she is stoned, the author writes, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 674). While there is foreshadowing of what the lottery is in the story, the author does not reveal it until Tessie Hutchinson is stoned to death. The use of a shocking twist surprises the reader and makes the ending of the story memorable. It causes the reader to rethink what they thought about the events that occurred earlier in the story. These events include the children collecting stones in the beginning of the story.
* Foil
A story that has good examples of foil characters is “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. An example of foil characters are Rainsford and Whitney. They are foil characters because they have different personalities. An example of this is that Whitney thinks hunting is exciting for the hunter, but not for the jaguar, while Rainsford believes that there are the hunters and the hunted. Another example is that Whitney is superstitious about Ship Trap Island, while Rainsford does not believe in the superstition of the island. These examples show that they have different and opposite personalities. This is exactly what foil characters are. The use of foil characters allows story characters to be better developed and it highlights their character traits. Foil characters result in better characters and better characters result in more exciting stories.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story that withholds information. The withheld piece of information is what the lottery actually is. The lottery is an annual tradition where the people pick a piece of paper out of a box and the one who picks the piece of paper with a black dot is stoned to death. The author, however, does not reveal what happens after the papers are picked until the end of the story. The withholding of information makes the reader wonder what the lottery is and this creates suspense. This in turn keeps the reader absorbed in the story.
* Unreliable narrator
The story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe has an unreliable narrator. The narrator is unreliable because Montresor is paranoid
and crazy. An example of Montresor being paranoid is when he exaggerates the amount of times Fortunato hurt him. Montresor says, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge” (Poe 636). It is obvious that he is overstating the amount of times he was hurt. This makes readers wonder whether other things he said are true or if they are also false. An example of Montresor being crazy is when he traps and consequently kills Fortunato in the catacombs. Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall and then builds a brick wall, preventing him from being discovered. Both of these examples show that Montresor is an unreliable narrator because he is paranoid and crazy. The use of an unreliable narrator allows Poe to create an interesting short story by twisting the truth. This makes the reader question whether the narrator is saying the truth or is lying and it increases the suspense of the story.
* Shocking twist
An example of a story that employs a shocking twist is also “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The shocking twist was the revealing of what the lottery was. Right before she is stoned, the author writes, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 674). While there is foreshadowing of what the lottery is in the story, the author does not reveal it until Tessie Hutchinson is stoned to death. The use of a shocking twist surprises the reader and makes the ending of the story memorable. It causes the reader to rethink what they thought about the events that occurred earlier in the story. These events include the children collecting stones in the beginning of the story.
* Foil
A story that has good examples of foil characters is “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell. An example of foil characters are Rainsford and Whitney. They are foil characters because they have different personalities. An example of this is that Whitney thinks hunting is exciting for the hunter, but not for the jaguar, while Rainsford believes that there are the hunters and the hunted. Another example is that Whitney is superstitious about Ship Trap Island, while Rainsford does not believe in the superstition of the island. These examples show that they have different and opposite personalities. This is exactly what foil characters are. The use of foil characters allows story characters to be better developed and it highlights their character traits. Foil characters result in better characters and better characters result in more exciting stories.