The story starts out very general
and simples, basically as general and simple as it gets. The people seem
nondescript- “ a women”, “a man”, “some children” but then the clause “who was
just like all…” brings everything the reader needs to know, though it is
somewhat stereotypical. The line “And it rained all day” brings the odd effect
of shortening these events into one day, but then the story continues with general
statements, emphasizing monotony. I almost would have liked it if Smart used “women”
instead of “woman” and “men” instead of “man”. Smart then speaks to the reader,
claiming to answer the readers’/ society’s cries for scandal and entertainment,
but then only generalizes even more with “chapters,” which exemplifies the
irritated tone, kind of like how someone explains things when they are
frustrated: “First of all..” It gives a lifetime in seconds, like flashes of lightning
lighting up a sky for just a second before pitch blackness falls once again.
The
story seems to interrupt itself with a new story, slightly more descriptive,
yet still relying heavily on assumption. Then it interrupts itself again,
bringing the narrator into the story before zooming out to old women clucking
like mother hens over each other. Then there’s a cut scene to a jar of
formaldehyde preserved newts. Then a scene is painted. There is dialogue, but
the reader is blind to the speaker, and forced to presume it is the old women.
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