The Lottery Argumentative Essay

790 Words2 Pages

Making a difference and creating a chance to save somebody and anybody from harm is something that our society should be aware of without having to be reminded. For example; in The Lottery, Mrs.Hutchinson had been chosen to “win” the “lottery” when in reality she was the one chosen to receive a painful and depressing death. Nobody, not even her own husband nor child stood up to society to prevent her from being “stoned to death,” as stated “It isn’t fair, this isn’t right...Mrs.Hutchinson screamed” (The Lottery, Shirley Jackson Paragraph 79) this quote shows that Mrs.Hutchinson knew or realized that what the “lottery” actually was wasn’t right and even though she pleaded and screamed still, nobody chose to help her due to tradition. But if it were to be someone else and Mrs.Hutchinson wasn’t the victim and was the bystander, she wouldn’t have realized that what was happening wasn’t right or she wouldn’t have wanted to or chosen to help the victim that took her place. To add on to, another point to prove is the fact that most of the society was aware of what the “lottery” was too, they knew that it wasn’t anything special to win and it was something that no one actually wanted to win, and here’s why; …show more content…

Taught me also to split my conscience from my acts and Christianity from my southern tradition.” (Killers of the Dream, Eugenia Collier Paragraph 8) This quote proves that the narrator does in fact blame her parents and does not blame herself when she should have felt guilty because even though her parents told her these things she knew what was right and what was wrong from the beginning and still decided to follow after her parents, she could have made a difference, it would have been a small difference but at least it was

Show More
Related

  • Argumentative Essay: Does The Lottery Help Education?

    431 Words  | 1 Pages

    Has the lottery helped education as promised? There has been evidence in the Bible and ancient Rome texts that lotteries can be traced all the way back to Europe in the 15th century (Willmann 1). After that the lotteries made their way across the Atlantic from England to the United States.The first American lottery was established in Puerto Rico in 1934. This was followed by the New Hampshire lottery in 1964.The entire history of the lottery includes the debate over whether or not it is ethical.Lotteries are not only unethical but also ineffective ways to raise state revenues for education.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of 'Why We Keep Playing The Lottery'

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Why We Keep Playing the Lottery”, by freelance journalist Adam Piore takes a very in depth look as to what drives millions of Americans to continually play the lottery when their chances of winning are virtually non-existent. He believes that because the odds of winning the lottery are so small that Americans lose the ability to conceptualize how unlikely it is that they are going to win, and therefore the risk of playing has less to do with the outcome, and more to do with hope that they are feeling when they decide to play. It 's essentially, "a game where reason and logic are rendered obsolete, and hope and dreams are on sale." (Piore 700) He also states that many Americans would rather play the lottery thinking ,"boy, I could win $100 million" (705) as opposed to thinking about all of the money they could lose over time.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Compare And Contrast Essay

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Compare and Contrast! Well, you use it on a daily right? The stories “The Lottery” and “The Landlady” are two stories that you can compare and contrast. Some examples of comparisons are that both of the stories use violence, and that they both end with a plot twist no one was expecting. One example of a contrast in both of these stories is that they use their imagery differently. How are these stories alike and how are they different?

    Read More

  • The Lottery Argument Essay

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the year 2012- 2013, though several 3.1 public high school students or 81 percent, graduated on time (Public High School Graduation Rates), how many students in that number truly gain the full education. Nowadays, education is necessary, which becomes a controversial issue between parents and the school. Either Charter or Public school encourages the development or improvement of the educational system to our young, beloved children. There are further charters out there which children can stay home, however, still learn enormous things. “Lottery” documentary film is about the controversy between public and charter schools, which tells the stories of four families who tried to find a better educational

    Read More

  • The Lottery Symbolism Essay

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    Written by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” is a short story about a town that hosts an annual lottery that decides which person is stoned by the rest of the town. Jackson slowly and subtly builds the suspense throughout the story, only resolving the mystery surrounding the lottery at the very last moment, as the townspeople surround Tessie with their stones. The symbolism utilized helps demonstrate the overall significance of the story, such as the lottery itself. The lottery shows the way people desperately cling to old traditions, regardless of how damaging they may be. In addition, it can show how callous many will act while staring at a gruesome situation, until they become the victims. Jackson’s story presents the issue regarding the habit

    Read More

  • The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Lottery was a ritual that happened on June 27th of each year. Everyone would gather in the middle of the town and from there each head of the household would draw a piece of paper from a black box. As the story proceeds you can see that people were getting impatient and making remarks like "I wish they'd hurry (The Lottery, pg. 4)." Other people were making comments like "Some places have already quit lotteries (The Lottery, pg. 4)."

    Read More

  • Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Why would a civilized and peaceful town would ever suggest the horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at anytime and the most ordinary people can commit them. Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and “The Lottery”, perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story’s characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lacks significant individuating detail, most critics view “The Lottery.” As a modern-day parable or fable, which obliquely addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the danger of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the mass will. Shirley Jackson also addresses cruelty by the citizen’s refusal to stand up and oppose “The Lottery.” Violence and cruelty is a major theme in “The Lottery.”

    Read More

  • The Lottery

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    The town sets up this lottery in a very practical way, there were several things that were a part of the ritual that the town allowed to fade from practice. But the town still saw it necessary to stone a citizen to death once a year just because that was the way it was always done. Shirley Jackson wanted the world to try and find another way, to break away from traditions and be more humane human beings. Once the heads of household have drawn, everyone looks at the slip of paper in their hands and at the same time everyone is praying that it is not their family. Once again the family members draw and each one is praying it is not them, at the same time they know that they are about to lose a loved one. Everyone has felt these same feelings. A friend loses her husband or child and we say a little prayer of thanks to what ever power each of us believes in , thank goodness it was not me. When Tessie Hutchinson realizes that her family has been chosen she says, ‘ I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that.”(233) “The Lottery” makes one feel guilty for desiring one’s own survival.

    Read More

  • The Lottery

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Lottery” was quite disturbing to read. It is an very unusual story that has an ending that will have you baffled. You will want to reread certain parts to see if there is anything thing that you could have missed. The title of the short story is also misleading. In most cases the lottery is a good thing. People don’t win punishment and lotteries don’t hurt them. But in this story it does just that. The author did a great job of telling how anyone and everyone can follow tradition blindly. It is dangerous not to have a mind of your own and to just follow the crowd even if you don’t understand on agree on why something is happening.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Character Analysis Essay

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the author is able to entertain and enlighten the readers successfully. The interesting and profound topic of the story is partly the reason for drawing the readers in; however, the clever characterization of Tessie and the anonymous setting help to make the story more relatable as well as force the readers to feel sympathy for the characters. Although a story about a town devouring a member of its community is horrifying, there is a large meaning. Jackson effectively uses “The Lottery” to warn the readers of the dangers of groups.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    Shirley Jackson was a criticized female writer that wrote about US’s scramble for conformity and finding comfort in the past or old traditions. When Jackson published this specific short story, she got very negative feedback and even death threats. In the fictionial short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, a drawing takes place during the summer annually in a small town in New England. In this particular work, the lottery has been a tradition for over seventy years and has been celebrated by the townspeople every year. In detail, Richard H. Williams explains in his “A Critique of the Sampling Plan Used in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery””, he explains the process of how the lottery works. “The sampling plan consists of two

    Read More

  • Essay on Shirley Jackson's The Lottery - Evils of Society Exposed

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    "The Lottery" is "symbolic of any number of social ills that mankind blindly perpetrates" (Friedman 108). The story is very shocking, but the reality of mankind is even more shocking. Isn’t it funny that Jackson gives us a description of our nature, and not only do we not recognize it for what it is , but it shocks us.

    Read More

  • Blind Obedience in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    1070 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of “The Lottery” wrote this story “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson 211). This story reflects human behavior in society to show how although rules, laws or traditions do not make sense, people follow them. Throughout the story the three main symbols of how people blindly follow senseless traditions were the lottery itself, the color black, and the hesitation that people had towards the prize.

    Read More

  • Literary Elements In The Lottery

    1209 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson fills her story with many literary elements to mask the evil. The story demonstrates how it is in human nature to blindly follow traditions. Even if the people have no idea why they follow.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    In "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, there are a series of traditions the story revolves around. The characters in the story don't seem to follow their traditions anymore. The story begins by explaining how the lottery works. The lottery takes place in many other towns. In this town it takes place on June 27 of every year. Everyone within town would gather at the town square, no matter what age. The black box is brought out and each head of the household pulls a small paper out of it. Only one of the papers will not be blank, it will have a black-penciled spot that is put on by the owner of the coal company. The black spot will send someone, from the family who chose it, to death. This is decided by a draw. The family member who pulls out the spotted paper will be stoned to death. After a long period of time, people forget the traditions by slowly disregarding as the years pass.

    Read More

More about The Lottery Argumentative Essay

Open Document