“Voice” in The Announcement of the People’s Party No. 1: Literary Techniques for the Revolution

Abstract

This article aims to offer a new reading of the People’s Party Announcement No. 1, a key component of the 1932 Siamese Revolution, through the lens of literary studies, specifically employing the theory of Narratology. From this perspective, the People’s Party Announcement No. 1 is not merely a significant historical document marking the political transition from absolute monarchy to democracy but can also be regarded as a literary text with literary techniques designed to communicate critical ideas. The author employs different narrative voices in the announcement, including the voices of the overthrower and the hero. These voices serve to imbue the writing with sufficient power to evoke emotional responses from various groups, especially the monarch and the ruling class, thereby assisting the success of the coup. Reading the People’s Party Announcement No. 1 from this angle leads to the comprehension that the narrative voices in the text are constructed to serve specific purposes and do not represent the actual voice of the composer or the collective voice of the People’s Party. Therefore, the narrator’s voice and the composer himself should be considered separately.