Dorothy Parker's But the One On the Right

Point of View in a Short Story by Dorothy Parker

Sep 12, 2009

This short story is an interior monologue, sharing the thoughts of a first person narrator.

In “But the One On the Right” by Dorothy Parker, the first person narrator is a guest at a dinner party. The story reveals her thoughts; she is bored by the dull man on her left and secretly eyeing up the man on the right who is engaged in conversation with another woman.

Mrs. Parker, The Narrator

The narrator, who calls herself Mrs. Parker, presumably the author herself, is sarcastic in tone as she sits through the dull dinner conversation of the man on her left, who she finds no interest in whatsoever. What does intrigue her, however, is the shoulder of the man on her right, who she imagines would be much more exciting.

The problem is, she knows a lost cause when she sees one; he is wrapped up in a conversation with someone else. So, she resorts to complaining to herself about her decision to attend the party and finding herself stuck with the bore on her left: “I knew it. I knew if I came to this dinner, I’d draw something like this baby on my left” (Parker 17).

Sarcasm

Mrs. Parker, in the interior monologue through which the story is told, is scathingly sarcastic in her thoughts about the uninteresting conversation provided by the man on her left: “Yes, he likes potatoes, too. Why, he’s a regular Nature-lover, that’s what he is. I would have to come out to dinner and sit next to the Boy Thoreau” (Parker 18).

Between sarcastic comments to herself about the man on the left, which do provide humor in the story, Mrs. Parker has time to size up the man on her right, who she compares to a “Greek god,” based mainly on the fact that she can tell he has a “nice shoulder.” It would seem that anyone would appeal to the narrator compared to the dull, food-only conversation she is involved in.

Searching for a Man

In addition to the humorous sarcasm from the narrator, there is strong forwardness about finding a man apparent in the narrator’s tone. She is continuously sizing up her chances at snagging the man on her right, and even though she feels another woman has won him, Mrs. Parker notes that, “He’s still using his knife and fork. While there’s hands above the table, there’s hope” (Parker 20).

The persistent forwardness of the narrator also adds humor and a distinct personality to Parker’s interior monologue. Right when the narrator has finally written off the man on the right as a lost cause, he breaks away from the conversation he was having, telling Mrs. Parker how bored he has been with the conversation he’s had with the other woman.

The narrator’s personality creates the interest and the humor in the story. If the story were told from a different perspective, such as a third person omniscient point of view, the ending of the story would not be as effective since it is important that the narrator is unaware of what is being said between the man on the right and the other woman. Therefore, Parker’s story is successfully told as an interior monologue.

Parker, Dorothy. “The Man on the Right.” Points of View: An Anthology of Short Stories. Eds. James Moffett and Kenneth R. McElheny. New York: Mentor, 1956.

The copyright of the article Dorothy Parker's But the One On the Right in Modern American Fiction is owned by Jeris Swanhorst. Permission to republish Dorothy Parker's But the One On the Right in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.