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Short analysis of the lottery
Short analysis of the lottery
Short analysis of the lottery
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Each time we walked pass by a lottery stand, we always ask ourselves, “Will I be the lucky one?” As you paid for your lottery ticket, you were most likely to draw no prize. Don’t be sad if you failed though. While people follow the lotto fever, take a minute now and think about this: if you win the grand prize, how will the fortune you win from lottery change your life? Maybe winning lottery isn’t necessarily good for us in some aspects. It’s certain that winning the jackpot is extremely rare and exciting. For some people, especially who’s in need of money, this can be a game changer for them; and for those who spends the fortune wisely, often ended up having a great life as well, so why, under any circumstance, that winning lottery will have …show more content…
Thomas and Denise Rossi were married for 25 years. They weren’t rich, but Thomas considered themselves as a lovely couple. However, things went down the hill pretty soon when Denise Rossi won the jackpot of the lottery. Before Denise informed his husband, she seeked a divorce with him, so that she wouldn’t need to either split or share the money with him. However, the law in California required married couples to disclose their assets before divorcing. Denise’s secret was exposed, and due to her dishonesty, the court awarded her lottery ticket to her husband …show more content…
However, people were still not satisfied by his doings, and some were even jealous of his sudden wealth and wanted a share of it, so wherever Whittaker went, people followed him and asked for loans. There were numbers of local rival companies which sued his construction site several times for public safety issues that never existed. The plaintiffs were waiting for the court to award his money to them. Whittaker started to realize that the friends around him only wanted his money, so he drifted away from his normal life. Upset and depressed, Whittaker started to go to pub, strip clubs and similar sensual locations. This was the time where his drink was poisoned, and half of his fortune was stolen away while he was comatosed. The supposedly miracle wore off, but the tragedy didn't end here. After Whittaker won the jackpot, he rewarded his granddaughter with fancy cars and large amount of allowances (22000 USD) per week, and soon she stepped into the wrong route as well. She got involved with drugs, and her luxurious sports cars attracted gangsters and criminals who obviously thought that she was wealthy, which was true. One night, she was abducted and murdered, the event exposed when her body was found two weeks later dumped in a
The idea of winning a lottery is associated with luck, happiness and anticipation of good things. In Shirley Jackson's story, " The Lottery", this is not the case. The irony of the story is that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death by everyone else in the town. The story is very effective because it examines certain aspects of human nature.
The title has a positive connotation, but as we read further, we see that that is not the case. Typically, a lottery is something you want to win. It can grant you money, trips, and other prizes; however, the lottery that Shirley Jackson describes in her story is something you want to avoid winning. While the traditional lottery grants someone as the winner, this lottery marks someone as the persecuted. By calling it “the lottery”, Jackson keeps the audience unaware of the story’s true essence.
Typically, when someone thinks of a lottery they think of something positive and exciting but contrary to this idea in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the connotation has an entirely different meaning. As the story begins, readers lean towards the belief that the town in which Jackson depicts is filled with happiness and joy. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 247) We soon realize that this notion is far from the truth. As the townspeople gather in the square for the annual lottery, which sole purpose is to stone someone to death by randomly pulling a paper out of a black box with a black dot on it, it is learned
Winning the lottery is a dream most people have; it is magical thinking, believing that you, the ticket buyer will be the one defying all the odds. The only ones, from the hedonistic utilitarian standpoint whosehappiness will increase are those who actually win the lottery, a very small number from among all the players. The hedonistic utilitarian standpoint is not ethically recommendable because the lottery is only selling the dream of winning it while filling the state coffers with people’s hard earned money. (Brusseau, J. 2012)
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery" is all about how an old tradition as the lottery exceeds our expectations. First by giving us the readers the believe that the price of the lottery would be something great. Making us questioning the results and why to do this with no explanation at the end. Teaching us how traditions are that don’t make sense are killing because Society is clinging to this traditions and practices.
“’It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.” These are the famous last words written by Shirley Jackson in “The Lottery.” “The Lottery” is a short story that takes place in a small town with nearly 300 people. Every year, the town comes together for the yearly tradition of the lottery, which is a human sacrifice to prepare for the fall crops. “The Lottery” is a suspenseful story that shows the irony to many important details of the story, including the true meaning of a lottery, the dangers of keeping only some aspects of a tradition, and the defiance of Tessie Hutchinson.
Jackson’s story presents the issue regarding the habit of turning a blind eye to another’s horrid treatment, if not for anything but for the sake of ritualistic tradition. Mrs. Hutchinson ran into the event late, laughing that she had “[c]lean forgotten what day it was” (Jackson 292). After that, Mr. Summers, the officiator of the lottery, calls out names of the people who are unable to attend the lottery, and asks for the person who will be drawing for them. There were two people missing, Clyde Dunbar, who had broken his leg, and the Watson’s mother. Dunbar’s wife was drawing for him, and it seemed that she was unhappy that she was the one handed this task.
In today’s society we perceive the lottery as being a great fortune brought down upon you by Lady Luck. It is a serendipitous event, even if the person has done nothing to earn it. One would never see the lottery as an unfortunate occasion that occurred in your life because it is supposed to bring prosperity into your life. Also, one would not dare to think that winning the lottery would bring such repercussions as injury or death. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author could have used Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson as the town’s scapegoat due to their reluctance to change traditions, her horrible work ethic, and minority status as a woman.
We see a very disturbing ending in the Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery where the reader believes that the lottery in mention is solely a monetary game of chance, like in our lives presently. However,
Winning the lottery can be rewarding with money, gifts, and more. However, in the short story, 'The Lottery', written by Shirley Jackson, the lottery is something that people shouldn’t participate in. The short story takes place in a small town with an approximate number of three hundred residents. The lottery takes place every year on June 27 where the townspeople gather up in the middle of the town in order to participate in the lottery. We do not find out until the end of the story that the winning family member is sentenced to death in an unusual way. Jackson creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, grim reality, and a ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately demonstrated how people blindly follow tradition.
Nebeker, Helen E. “The Lottery: Symbolic Tour de Force.” American Literature 46.1 1974: 100-7. Academic Search Complete EBSCO. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.
“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.
It is funny how life works out sometimes. You never know what you are going to get. ‘The Lottery’ is a story about a small village that holds a lottery drawing in the middle of the town square. The “winner” of the lottery is then stoned by the town’s people. This piece of literature provides a clear example that things in life are not always what they seem.
“The Lottery” is a story written by Shirley Jackson. By looking at the title you may think about money prize. In this story takes the readers expectation to another level. By the two words of the title there is no way the reader did not get hook to reading this story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, irony, and imagery.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the winner is in fact the loser, making the idea of winning completely twisted. Clearly, there is blatant irony in this because when one wins a lottery, there is typically a good connotation connected to it. However in “The Lottery,” winning means death--something that the people in the village have become accustomed to. In this story “The Lottery,” which is described as something that would closely resemble a festival, turns out to be something very sinister. Once a name is drawn from the black box, that person is placed in the town square and is stoned to death by anyone, child or adult, who is willing to partake in the act.