Third Person Narrative Techniques Used In The Song Of Jackson, By Shirley Jackson

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Jackson is able to keep the reader off guard by making use of an objective, third-person narrative style in which details are obtainable but no judgments are made. It is almost as if one is seeing a movie or observing events by looking over the shoulders of the participants, without being able to see into the minds of the people. Any hints of inner turmoil are merely suggested by the actions of the characters a nervous tiny of the voice, a scuffling of feet, a whisper when normal speech would be right. On the other hand, the description of outward actions and physical setting is direct and, when viewed in retrospect, contributes directly to the macabre climax toward which the story moves up to. The story opens with a scene of small children

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