In some ways, the detached narrator resembles the narrative style of a news piece, in which an author will try to give readers the facts and the facts only. Often, this involves giving readers four w's: who, what, where, and when. The author tries to keep his or her opinion and personal thoughts completely out of the piece.
This is how the narrator gives information to readers in "The Lottery." We are given concrete facts about the gathering and the children playing. We are given information about the box and who is present. Events are being reported to us without any insight into what characters are thinking. The only way for us to get an inside look at what a character is thinking is if they say their thoughts out loud. This is how we come to know that Old Man Warner thinks giving up the lottery is stupid.
The narrator maintains their distance, so there is an emotional detachment from the people and the horrors that they are about to witness and partake in. The ending is shocking to us because it is so visceral and horrible; however, readers are also likely to wonder and be shocked by how the narrator can remain so uncaring and distant.
Shirley Jackson uses a third-person detached narrator in her short story, "The Lottery." Through this approach, the reader has limited access to what characters are thinking and feeling. The narrator states the facts and provides only subtle clues about what the townspeople may be feeling. For example, the narrator shares information about a beautiful day on which citizens are gathering for a lottery and that the lottery will end in time to "get home for noon dinner." It is stated that the men told jokes and that they "smiled rather than laughed." This statement provides the first clue that there may possibly be cause for them to be nervous. However, there is no indication of anything unpleasant. By using a third-person detached narrator, the author is able to keep the reader in the dark concerning the lottery's purpose until the end of the story.
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