The Lottery And In The Penal Colony

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“The Lottery” and “In the Penal Colony” Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Franz Kafka’s “In the Penal Colony” both use elements of language and imagery to depict gruesome traditions. More specifically, through detached tones, simplistic writing styles, and the appliance of symbols, the authors are able to create brutal societies with unjustifiable traditions. While language can refer to countless writing elements in short fiction, it primarily centers on writing style, dialogue, and the story’s title. Jackson is especially blunt when providing details of the setting or characters in “The Lottery.” All that’s known of where the story takes place is that it’s June 27th in a village, on a clear, summer day. Jackson uses a third-person objective point of view, careful not to reveal any of the thoughts of the characters. The speaker maintains a detached tone, which is evident when no one notices Tessie Hutchinson’s pleas, “It’s wasn’t fair,” and also when describing the reactions of the villagers as they come upon her. The dialogue between the characters remains ambiguous throughout the story, failing to provide the story with any new information and also making it tough to classify any of the villagers. In achieving this effect, Jackson portrays all of the villagers as ordinary, keeping the identity of a protagonist or antagonist hidden. By treating everyone the same, Tessie, the protagonist or “winner,” does not emerge until the end of the story, emphasizing the effect of an overall theme of blindly following tradition. “In the Penal Colony” presents a third-person limited point of view, focusing on the explorer, in addition with the speaker’s impersonal or removed tone. “…The eyes were open, with the same expression as in life, the look was calm and convinced, through the forehead went the point of the great iron spike.” The speaker relays this grotesque

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