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Literary elements of The Lottery
Literary elements of The Lottery
Literary analysis of the lottery
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Human beings have been known to become strung up on following tradition. In the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the villagers demonstrate this fact. While following traditions has its benefits, doing what is customary can be hazardous. The Lottery begins as a day full of excitement-children run around, men have stopped work, and wives have left their housework to gossip in the town square. But while there is eagerness, tension hangs in the air, ever so slightly. Family names are called, and the head of the household draws a slip of paper out of a worn and splintering black box, After the drawing, the family with a black mark on their paper is forced to come up to the stage and draw again, The Hutchinsons receive the marked
There are regions in parts of the globe that take part in normal activities that, here in the United States, would be considered completely abnormal, even inhumane. Yet, traditional ties sewn into a cultural realm deems certain events, such as “the lottery”, to be well within the bounds of socially acceptable. Old Man Warner epitomizes the relevance of the power of tradition in this short story, and the symbol that takes shape from it. A veteran of seventy-seven years in the lottery, he snorts at the idea of giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that… Pack of young fools,” he says when it is mentioned that some towns have given it up. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore…” he spouts off, illogically. The lottery was so steeped in the town’s traditional makeup that even the barbaric physical act of killing someone with stones was not the least bit
Mr. Summer states, “Now I’ll read the names- heads of families first- and the men come up and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has a turn. Everything clear (568)?” Given that today’s lottery winners receive money, a reader might assume winning in this short story would be a good thing. The men held the slips over papers nervously in their hands. After a long, breathless pause, Mr. Summers says, “All right, fellows (568).” The head of the family opens the slip of paper and the terrible fate awaits the winner. The winner was the Hutchinson family. Tessie Hutchinson instantly states, “I think we ought to start over… I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him enough time to choose. Everybody saw that (571).” The reader may still not understand what the prize is or may be confused on why each family member now needs to draw a slip of paper from the old black
The presence of tradition in “The Lottery” gives the village something to consider important, even though the traditions may be considered outdated. However, the villagers follow their lottery rituals so closely that they are unable to see what they are actually doing, which is randomly killing one villager without reason, other that it is what they have always done. Furthermore, some traditions are forgotten completely, leaving voids in the overall point of the lottery. Overall, throughout “The Lottery”, tradition is a reoccurring element that helps aid in the development of the setting, characters, and style.
The Lottery was published in 1949, it is one of Shirley Jackson’s most successful stories and is particularly her most analyzed story. The secret to its success is embedded in the literature arising from Jackson 's use of many literary technic to evoke dramatic irony to its readers. This is an absurd story about the strange tradition. The story revolves around an annual lottery was held in the village and the winner will die because villagers will throw stones to him/her. This piece of story through a grim lottery to show the ruthless and indifference between people. They fill with folly for blindfold follow the traditional custom that cause the tremendous impact. It marks a significant signal that the old tradition will has a negative influence
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. As the story begins, the villagers appear to be fairly civilized and carry on fairly modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the men's discussion of planting, rain, tractors, and taxes. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some may think that the tradition is primal competition of anthropoid beasts. On the other hand, some think that carrying on the tradition was necessary. The question that must be answered is: Was this a barbaric tradition or was this ritual an honest attempt to better other villager's lives?
...an not be any real purpose to its practice. But, as tradition tends to have a strong hold on a society, it will be continued for years to come if people do not do anything to change it. Old Man Warner can see that this is a threat, and that times are changing: “It’s not the way it used to be,” he says. “People ain’t the way they used to be” (79). In modern day society, there can be no moral justification for the practice of the lottery and the brutal killings that result from it. Nevertheless, this tradition has a strong grip on this village, and “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual… they still remembered to use stones” (79).
Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role on how they go by there everyday lives. In Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," the citizens of a small farming town follow one such tradition. A point is made regarding human nature in relation to tradition. The story begins on a beautiful summer afternoon. The town's citizens are eager, gathering in the town square in order to take part in the yearly lottery. With the story focused around one particular family, the Hutchinsons, who are so anxious to get it all over with until they find that one of their members is to participate in the lottery's closing festivities, Tessie. Of course unlike your typical lotteries, this is not one that you would want to win. The one chosen from the lottery is to undertake a cruel and unusual death by stoning at the hands of their fellow townsmen for the sake that it may bring a fruitful crop for the coming harvest season. Ironically, many of the towns people have suggested that the lottery be put to an end, but most find the idea unheard of being that they have lived in it's practice for most of their lives. The story conveys a message that traditions may be valued so highly that those in their practice may do everything they can to ensure that they continue in accordance. From this a question arises. How far would one go to ensure their sacred traditions remain unscathed?
It can be outrageous how people blindly follow tradition without knowing the history behind it or the ritual that started it all? In Shirley Jackson's, “The Lottery” the characters are living in a very small village that hosts the lottery. The lottery started off as a ritual that the founders of the village believed; When the lottery is over, the crops would grow. This ritual soon became a tradition. The time has come and Mr. Summers and the other characters that live in the village are ready for the lottery. Today, they just do the lottery because they believe they have to-- they do not really know the meaning behind it.
The Lottery is a story about a tradition that has been going on for many years, but leads to death at the end. In the town square, villagers gather and watch as Mr. Sumemers brings out the black box, that is part of the tradition known as The Lottery, and mixes the slips in the box. He calls up each family and if they get a blank paper, they are safe and if they get a paper with a black dot on it, they get “the lottery”. In other towns, the lottery used to go on for 2 days straight. In the town square, the children are gathering stones and organizing them, the women are talking to each other, and the men are discussing their jobs and taxes. When someone gets picked as the lottery “winner”, they get stoned. After Bill Hutchison gets picked,
Traditions and Norms “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about villagers that gather in the square to participate in a lottery. The lottery is run by Mr.Summers, the village patriarch who decides all the big events. Children go and start collecting stones until the children’s parents tell them to come back. Mrs.Hutchinson (Tessie) arrives late, and starts to chat with her friend Mrs.Delacroix. Tessie draws a slip of paper, with a black dot on it, the one that Mr.Summers had put on it the night before.
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
American author Shirley jackson is known for her collection of short stories; her most notable being “The Lottery.” Published in 1948, this story depicts a town carrying out an unquestioned tradition as it conducts its annual lottery. Consequently, readers are left with an understanding of the dangers that result from blindly followed traditions. Furthermore, through this story, Jackson was able to communicate her concerns with events and practices that were taking place during its publication. However, this story does not only pertain to post-war America, as its theme, rooted in human nature, may pertain to any society or time period.
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
Keeping traditions can be a bonding experience. Enforcing one on the other hand can be greatly detrimental, particularly on an entire society. The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson illustrates the theme of imposing a tradition on a people and how they blindly fall into its trap. The village is forced to gather yearly for lot casting were one person is selected for death. Thus (albeit) the villagers didn’t raise the awareness of actually questioning themselves what’s the origin of this lottery and they followed it nevertheless! This outrageous scenario demonstrates the foolishness of those who follow the crowd without questioning and the danger of doing so. It equally demonstrates refusing to move on can have tremendous repercussions on societies functioning. The evolution of man and of its inventions plays a big role in man interaction. Traditions are a fundamental aspect in today’s society and have a source behind it. The importance of evolving is being seen by one your surroundings progress.
Shirley Jackson’s (1948) “The Lottery” shows the dark side of human nature when exposed to a totalitarian rule. The characters within the text, especially the older, more traditional Old Man Warner, are against changing their dark traditions, because they have been a part of their lifestyle for so long (Jackson, 1948, p.460). The story is meant to be a warning against totalitarianism, as Jackson (1948) wrote it during World War II, when Germany was a totalitarian-led government. The characters’ actions in the story show how evil can take over good people when society enforces a certain way of thinking upon them. Jackson (1948) reflects the dictating rule of Germany during WWII and dons different