The Law of Inequality

In his essay, “The Law of Inequality,” a chapter in the 1923 collection Knight’s Move, Viktor Shklovsky introduces a literary device he names “estrangement,” defining it as when a writer associates “a pair of concepts completely at odds but shifting one another out of the set of ordinary associations” (Shklovsky, page 74). Estrangement is a way of creating meaning – using unconventional combinations of language, stylistic choice, metaphors, etc. ­– by drawing attention to a discrepancy or to an odd connection.



Let’s look at some examples of estrangement and try to guess what I’m talking about!

1. Flesh stuffed into intestine animal intestines, served with unborn chickens.

2. Warm water with little green-ish brown specks in it made by putting dried plant matter into water after boiling it.
3. Her fingers were adorned with small ovular pieces of brightly-colored plastic.

You try!

1. Makeup

2. pencil
3. high heels
4. telephone
5. microwave

This is one of my favorite literary devices, but we can also think of its opposite as a literary device. Let’s call it de-strangement, and let’s define it as writing about something terrifying or strange or alien as though it were totally normal.

The story that I’d like to read is a story called “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Shirley Jackson was born near San Francisco in 1916. She is famous for her surreal stories, such as “The Lottery.” She is “one of those American writers who is continually being rediscovered and reevaluated.”

Writing Prompt: Write about something ordinary like it’s terrifying, or write about something terrifying like it’s ordinary.