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character analysis essay of the lottery
characters of the lottery
character analysis essay of the lottery
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Throughout history with no specific date of origin, people have used objects to represent ideas. These objects of representation are known as symbols. Symbols are used in almost everything we see in our daily lives. They are often flashed right in front of us without us mentally taking notice of them. It takes observation and a comprehension of certain things to understand symbols. For example one might question why there is a bald eagle on the back of the quarter. Fact is the bald eagle is known to be a strong creature therefore is a symbolism of strength which is what the United States is known to be. There is a wide variety of different symbols. They may be colors such as white for purity and black for evil, they may be animals such as the bald eagle for strength, or even numbers such as the thirteen stripes on the United States flag symbolizing the original thirteen colonies.
In the short story “The Lottery” the story begins with noisy villagers gathering around for an event known to be the annual lottery. Once it is time to get started, silence surrounds what were once the voices of the villagers. Two men by the names of Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves stand in front of the audience and begin to call out family names. Slowly the villagers go up and select a paper from the mysterious black box that stands beside Mr. Summers. After everyone has selected their papers they each unfold them and hold them up in the air. A villager named Mr. Hutchinson turns out to have a sort of different paper though. His family is then told to redraw from the box and his wife turns out to be the lottery winner. Her prize is being stoned to death.
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Throughout her story, Shirley Jackson uses numerous symbols in which if thought about enough ha...
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...people playing right into it. This view changes once the story is examined more. Shirley Jackson uses an abundance of symbols all throughout her story. When these symbols are looked into more thoroughly, they reveal the dark side that is “The Lottery”.
Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Heritage of American Literature Ed James E. Miller. Vol 2 Austin Harcourt Bruce Jovanovich, 1991. 1864. Print.
Ma, Martine. “Literary Analysis Essay: ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Word Press N.P. 10 Jun 2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
123HelpMe Editors. “Names in Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’.” 123Helpme.123Helpme, Inc, N.D. web. 17 Mar 2014
123HelpMe Editors. “Religious symbolism in ‘The Lottery’.” 123HelpMe.123HelpMe,Inc, N.D. Web. 17 Mar 2014
Scheelat, Lucas. “Symbolism in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” ReadingReaction N.D., 26 Jan 2009. Web. 17 Mar 2014
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,
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
There is no question what so ever that Jackson inserted a manifold of symbols in order to have a more profound impact on the story’s ending. Symbolism is an object, word, or idea that has a deeper meaning than how it is put into use. It serves as an iconic representation of something more emotional. Using symbolism lets the author plant a seed in the reader’s mind in which triggers a more profound reaction once the true meaning behind the symbol are revealed. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson there are a manifold of symbolic references that are used. It seems as Jackson wants us to question whether or not every tradition are done with good morality. As shown through this short story, many of the townspeople have a belief that their tradition is an act that would be approved by
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Eds. John Schilb and John Clifford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 867-74. Print.
The short story “ The Lottery ” the author Shirley Jackson uses symbolism and imagery to develop a theme the brings forth the evil and inhumane nature of tradition and the danger of when it’s carried out with ignorance.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 643-54. Print.
Michelson, D. The historical reception of Shirley Jackson's "the lottery". In: KURZBAN, Robert; PLATEK, Steve. 18th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. 2006.
Jackson, Shirley.. "The Lottery." Trans. Array Literature, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. . Seventh. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 250-256. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Book.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner. Boston: New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 242-249. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Gardner, Janet E.; Lawn, Beverly; Ridl, Jack; Schakel, Pepter. 3rd Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 242-249. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”. Literature an Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama. 4th Compact ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Longman, 2005. 211-218.
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...
In conclusion, the use of symbolism, irony and setting in the Lottery is very evident, the author indirectly implicates the true darkness within the human heart. The Lottery remains relevant in society today because the overall vagueness of the city allows this story to be true to all people around the world. The short story shows us that humans are evil enough to follow traditions blindly, even if they cause pain and death in loved ones we know. Jackson also centers a lot of symbols and irony on religion and how they affect our culture and decisions. In this the reader can learn that sometimes it’s better for a person to follow his moral compass, and not just blindly follow his evil heart, and the evilness of others.