In'Victim' the school setting immediately takes the reader back in time, to their own school days. Most can relate to the to the types of characters associated with being in school, the ‘bully’ like Benda , the ‘authority figure’ like Mr Curtis, the ‘nerdy kid’ like Mickey and the ‘thinker ‘ like Ras. Whether we were or we knew one of these types of characters, it was quite easy to place oneself in the school ground as an on looker waiting for the events to unfold.

The build up of Mickey’s character is enhanced by the reference to Mickey’s mother. Mickey’s thought that ‘His mother was wrong: it wasn’t dangerous to be with th

The main event is when Mickey is holding the lizard deciding whether to kill it or not. This has been set up like a boxing match. There is Mickey and the lizard in the center ring representing the boxers, the crowd waiting in anticipation, represented by the children watching, the man in the crowd just waiting for the bloodshed, this is Benda and Ras the guy who does not enjoying boxing but is there hoping to talk some sense into the boxers. Ras succeeds. Mickey’s ‘moment of realisation’ transpires when Benda snarls ‘You’re such a reject’. Mickey knows undoubtedly he has missed an opportunity to be one of the ‘boys’ and not the ‘nerdy kid’. Mickey was never going to kill the lizard, but the attention the others paid him when they thought he might made him feel good. It was all but a fleeting moment. Mickey could not change who he is, he knew this, Ras knew this and he reminded him. Quietly Ras let him know ‘this is not the way’, if these boys could not appreciate Mickey for who he is, killing a lizard, who is yet just another ‘victim’ was not the answer.

The ‘Victim’ and ‘The Lottery’ are two very different stories, but both stories rely on their narrative structure to reach the ‘moment of realisation’, for the character (Mickey) in the ‘Victim’ and for the reader in ‘The Lottery’. Both stories use the setting, characters and their actions to create the narrative structure. The writers rely on the readers preconceived ideas of ‘bullies’ in ‘Victim’ and of ‘small towns’ in ‘The Lottery’. These things enable the reader to visualize the actual events in the stories. When a story can make the reader ‘see’ and ‘feel’, then writer has achieved success.

Some topics in this essay:
Shirley Jackson, Tessie Hutchison, Lottery Firstly, Curtis Ras, Tessie Hutchinson, Benda Ras, Quietly Ras, ‘moment realisation’, ‘the lottery’, narrative structure, Oliver Smithfield, , ‘nerdy kid’, character mickey, school grounds, Bill Hutchinson, reach ‘moment realisation’, structure reach ‘moment, tough boys, ras outsiders, built ‘moment, characters actions, built ‘moment realisation’, text built ‘moment, ‘moment realisation’ character,