Comparison of "The Scarlet Ibis", "Flowers For Algernon" and "The Lottery"

A similarity between all three short stories is of course the element of death and the presence of sadness. All portray Man in a bad light but in different aspects of it. Flowers for Algernon show how Man mistreat people and other animals which are what they believe to be inferior, The Scarlet Ibis shows how Man has too much pride even when they do something good while The Lottery tells us how hypocritical and uncaring Man is.

However, the narrative style used to convey these messages are all different. Flowers for Algernon used a first person diary writing format so as to put the reader in the character's shoes and allow the reader to experience what a mentally retarded person experiences. The Scarlet Ibis emphasized more on the details of the settings and events than the events themselves. The recounting method was probably used because the writer wanted to emphasize certain points , which the reader may not catch, by using reflection from the narrator. If you imagine the narrative styles as someone filming a video, for Flowers for Algernon, the camera man will be Charlie Gordon, for The Scarlet Ibis, a satellite photo, and for The Lottery, a person hiding in a tree at the village square.

However, they all convey the same message: Man only cares about himself/herself and no one else. Stories are usually an exaggerated reflection of society, but do you think that this particular message is exaggerated... or not?