More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis paper of the lottery by shirley jackson
Literary elements of The Lottery
The lottery by shirley jackson an analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Persona can be loosely defined as the face value that is usually a positive image, while the shadow is the buried reality that is the polar opposite of what is seen. Shirley Jackson wrote "The Lottery" which is about a town's annual mandatory lottery; it shockingly concludes with the murder of the winning person."The Lottery" illustrates the psychological concepts of persona and shadow through the yearly, unjustifiable stoning in the midst of a seemingly modern and thriving town. The small town's tight knit community is the persona that Shirley Jackson initially exhibits to the readers. The story begins cheerily, taking place on a warm summer day with the townspeople gradually gathering in the town square. The school year had just ended and the little boys were out playing and collecting stones, while the little girls talked amongst themselves. The archetypal small town also holds a lottery, "conducted-as were the square dancers, the teen-age club, the Halloween program- by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities" (Jackson, 294). There appears to be …show more content…
Mrs. Delacroix's name, meaning of the cross in French was pronounced as dellacroy by the people, this signifies the lack of morality in the town. Even though it was very faint, Shirley Jackson makes the effort of naming the two presenters Mr. Summers which invokes happy feelings, to represent the persona of the town and Mr. Graves which invokes death, to represent the shadow. Old Man Warner is often times seen warning people of what could become if the lottery was to be cancelled, "Next thing you know they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves...There's always been a lottery" (Jackson, 298). He suggests that cancelling the lottery would be step back from progress and put them back in the shadow of a cave. Nevertheless, the reason for having the lottery was never explained in the
Summers throughout the ordeal. The author goes so far as to use the word “cheerfully” as a latecomer makes her way into the crowd— “Mr. Summers… said cheerfully, ‘Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie.’” Mrs. Hutchinson, the late comer, responds jokingly, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe?” Small exchanges like this one suggest a collective acceptance among the town. The atmosphere of the story is symbolic to the effect that societies seem to be desensitized to the atrocities in world around them, be it abroad or even among their neighbors. This lottery strikes little fear in its participants regardless of their knowledge of the inevitable outcome. It’s the way of the world, so to speak; Just another civic activity. “The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween Program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.” Everyone seems to turn a blind eye to the brutality of the event, going about it as if were at all to be comparable to any other communal activity. Even the children participate without a second thought, playfully collecting stones among themselves in the beginning of the
Shirley Jackson takes great care in creating a setting for the story, The Lottery. She gives the reader a sense of comfort and stability from the very beginning. It begins, "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The setting throughout The Lottery creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquility, while portraying a typical town on a normal summer day.
All the inhabitants of a village gather around an area where a lottery is conducted. The author simply described what the weather was like and what the people were doing, and the reader should be able to predict what the story is about.
Set in a small town of New England, an annual horrifying lottery takes place. It isn’t a customary lottery where the winner is rewarded with great prizes and masses of money; instead, it is a drawing of fate to mark the next victim’s death. The victim, chosen at random, is violently murdered by every member of the village. This short story, labeled as Gothic fiction, was written by Shirley Jackson in the year of 1948. Through the themes, Jackson implies the weaknesses of humankind, revealing the underlying evilness of human nature. The social events during the time period in which “The Lottery” was published influenced the content in that it created a parallel image between reality and the actual story.
Toward the finale of the short story, Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” declares, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the black box, they still remembered to use stones” (873). Many of the residents display no knowledge of the lottery and only participate because of tradition. In fact, only Old Man Warner recollects the authentic purpose of the lottery. He furnishes some insight behind the tradition of the lottery by declaring, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 871). Old Man Warner reveals the original reason for holding the lottery, but Jackson clearly demonstrates that the original purpose no longer exists. The villagers comprehend the procedure of stoning the victim but nothing else. Nick Crawford articulates in an easy about “The Lottery,” “The most disturbing thing about Tessie Hutchinson’s unexpected demise is its...
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)."
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story of an unusual town caught in whirlwind of tradition, even when it is not in the best interest of the residents and society. Shirley Jackson uses symbols throughout the story that helps the reader clearly understand her purpose. By doing so, she creates significant connections to the theme using old man Warner and the people in this ghost town of tradition.
“The Lottery” is a satire that is meant to shock and provoke readers with the prospect that societal contentment and tradition can evoke the emersion of illogical and harmful actions. The author, Shirley Jackson, understands that the proper use of symbolism and character archetypes is followed by a more impactful story. “The Lottery” opens with children who are out of school for summer break “[on a clear and sunny… day.” (Jackson, 1948, p. 221). Such an innocuous, familiar scene, might elicit from the reader nostalgic, whimsical memories of childhood play. Appropriately, the children in this story represent the innocent, susceptible future generation of the town. They do not seem to fully fathom the severity of the lottery or the abhorrent nature of the violence associated with the town’s traditions. For this reason, the reader most likely develops an expectation that this story will be a pleasant and optimistic one that takes place on a beautiful sunny day and involves the laughter and tomfoolery of young happy kids.
On the morning of June 27 of a recent year, the 300 villagers of an American village prepare for the annual lottery in a mood of excitement. The horrible tradition of the lottery is so old that some of its ritual has been forgotten and some has been changed. Its basic purpose is entirely unremembered, but residents are present to take part in it. The children in the village created a “great pile of stones” in one corner of the stoning square. The civic-minded Mr. Summers has been sworn in and then he hands a piece of paper to the head of each family. When it is discovered the Hutchinson family has drawn the marked slip, each member of the family Bill, Tessie, and the children is given another slip. Silence prevails as suspense hovers over the proceedings. After helplessly protesting the unfairness of the first drawing, Tessie finds that she holds the marked slip.
What thoughts come to mind when you think of "The Lottery?" Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, "The Lottery." Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition that is cruel and inhumane, yet upheld in this town. Shirley Jackson provides the reader’s with a graphic description of violence, cruelty, and inhumane treatment which leads to the unexpected meaning of "The Lottery." Born in San Francisco, Jackson began writing early in her life. She won a poetry prize at age twelve and continued writing through high school. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. After marriage to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a notable literary critic, she continued to write. Her first national publication “My Life with R.H. Macy” was published in The New Republic in 1941but her best-known work is “The Lottery.”(Lit Links or Reagan). Jackson uses characterization and symbolism to portray a story with rising action that surprises the reader with the unexpected odd ritual in the village. While one would expect “The Lottery” to be a positive event, the reader’s are surprised with a ritual that has been around for seventy-seven years , demonstrating how unwilling people are to make changes in their everyday life despite the unjust and cruel treatment that is associated with this tradi...
The story starts out extremely slow-paced. The author describes the situation in a cheerful manner, as shown as she describes the day as “clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 1). The pleasant mood exhibits the city dwellers’ implications that the day of the “lottery” is just another day on the calendar. This quote suggests that the people don’t view the “lottery” day as something special, and it has become a part of system. This highlights the people’s unethicalness, as they have integrated a truly dreadful tradition into their society. The cheery mood was carried on, as the men “began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes” (Jackson 1). The overall mood given to the story suggests that the people are treating this day as any other. They are rather taking the advantage of all being together and discussing important topics. This is awfully unethical, as they have amalgamated the “lottery” with their community for no particular reason. Shirley Jackson shows, through mood, that the “lottery” has been accepted into their culture due to society
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the author is able to entertain and enlighten the readers. 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 the group. Shirley Jackson describes the characters in “The Lottery” in a way that readers can relate to each of them in some way, yet she makes one character stand out from the start of the story.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 5th ed. Ed. Laurence Perrine. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers 1998.
In 1948 Shirley Jackson published a very controversial short story The Lottery. The setting for the story, a gathering in a small rural village is symbolic of "small town America." It was customary at that time, for rural community leaders to organize summertime gatherings to bring people together and to acknowledge people and businesses. It was thought to be good for the businesses and good for the community. These gatherings were usually organized by the city council and featured lotteries with modest cash-prizes. This made The Lottery instantly recognizable to readers, especially those who lived in a small town and they did not like the way that this particular story developed and concluded. Shirley Jackson received a lot of negative reactions from the public for The Lottery. The story caused a lot of conflict with readers because of the killing of an innocent person. The story does have a positive note however, as the theme tells a good message that readers should follow. One of the main theme is following traditions a society and the characters and the setting in the story affect the theme.