The short stories “The Lottery” and “The Destructors” are made up of great details that help to form the scenes in the reader’s mind. One story creating profound images of a beautiful, small town concealed in flowers and exhausted tradition; while the other story constructs a reflection of a boyhood gang’s decaying car-park hang-out surrounded by debris and dilapidated buildings. Even though the short stories “The Lottery” and “The Destructors” leave the reader wanting a better understanding of the purpose of the character’s actions, both stories do provide enough foreshadowing for the reader to understand what the conclusions of the stories could be.
Foreshadowing plays a major part in both stories, but more so in “The Lottery”. The piling …show more content…
Shirley Jackson, the author of the “The Lottery” describes the setting of her story as “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Kennedy & Gioia 2007, p. 221). Jackson never formally gives a name for the town, but the amount of vivid detail provided is more than enough to form the scene in one’s mind. When Graham Greene wrote the short story “The Destructors”, he settled his story during the weekend of August Bank Day in Wormesley Common, England, nine years after World War II, amidst bomb site destruction. Both authors provided very detailed settings, but “The Lottery” has more vivid details, laying out the scene …show more content…
The narrator of “The Lottery” is a third person or objective omniscient narrator, meaning that he or she tells the story by going through the step-by-step version of events. A limited or selective omniscient narrator is how a reader could describe the narrator of “The Destructors”. The narrator in this story only knows the thoughts and feelings of some characters. The limited omniscience of the narrator was exposed when Greene wrote “T. stood with his back to the rubble like a boxer knocked groggy against the ropes” (Greene, 2016), and when the narrator was able to reveal the feelings of Blackie when he stepped down as leader of the gang. It’s revealed in these instances that the narrator could see into the minds of some of the characters, but not into the mind of
Foreshadowing plays a major part in both stories, but more so in “The Lottery”. The piling …show more content…
Shirley Jackson, the author of the “The Lottery” describes the setting of her story as “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Kennedy & Gioia 2007, p. 221). Jackson never formally gives a name for the town, but the amount of vivid detail provided is more than enough to form the scene in one’s mind. When Graham Greene wrote the short story “The Destructors”, he settled his story during the weekend of August Bank Day in Wormesley Common, England, nine years after World War II, amidst bomb site destruction. Both authors provided very detailed settings, but “The Lottery” has more vivid details, laying out the scene …show more content…
The narrator of “The Lottery” is a third person or objective omniscient narrator, meaning that he or she tells the story by going through the step-by-step version of events. A limited or selective omniscient narrator is how a reader could describe the narrator of “The Destructors”. The narrator in this story only knows the thoughts and feelings of some characters. The limited omniscience of the narrator was exposed when Greene wrote “T. stood with his back to the rubble like a boxer knocked groggy against the ropes” (Greene, 2016), and when the narrator was able to reveal the feelings of Blackie when he stepped down as leader of the gang. It’s revealed in these instances that the narrator could see into the minds of some of the characters, but not into the mind of