The Loudest Voice by Grace Paley - Summary

Shirley's is a very noisy neighborhood. Of all of the noisy elements there, her voice is the loudest, she says, and proudly. Her father too is loud. Her mother on the other hand is desperate for quiet.

One morning, Shirley is called in to Mr. Hilton's classroom. He offers her the part of narrator of the school play, due to her extremely loud voice. Shirley accepts.

The children take off thanksgiving decorations and put up Christmas ones. They learn carols. Her mother is indignant at all of the Christmas activities in which her Jewish neighbors are participating and about the immersion of her daughter in Christian culture. Her father disagrees, saying it's better than the tyrannical alternatives of other countries. Some parents brag about their children's parts in the play and some parents forbid their children to participate.

In the meantime, Shirley is having a blast at the play. She is Mr. Hilton's assistant, shouting at children when Mr. Hilton is weary of doing so himself.

As the big day approaches her parents still disagree about the harm of Christmas. Shirley's Jewish neighbors go out of the way to avoid Christmas artifacts, but Shirley herself embraces it, feeling generous and tolerant.

The day of the play, Shirley is as in control as ever. She glimpses her embarrassed mother from behind the scenes. As the play unfolds we discover that the play is the story of the Nativity and that Shirley is the voice of Jesus. However none of this is mentioned explicitly; instead of Jesus and Judas we have Marty and Abie, who are the children playing them.

After the play the adults sit in the kitchen and talk. Mrs. Kornbluh, whose daughter played the Virgin Mary, expresses regret that some of the Christian children didn't have a part in the play. Shirley's mother, for the first time, expresses pride in her daughter, saying that their voices are too quiet, and anyway they have nothing to benefit from being in the play, since they are already so familiar with Christmas and speak the language perfectly.

Grace Paley