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An analysis of "the lottery
Critical perspective of the lottery
Critical perspective of the lottery
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In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, once a year a person from town as to be sacrifice for a good harvest. Kids gather stones and put them in their pockets and they head towards the center of the town with the other villagers. As they gather around Mr. Summers brings a black box, in this box it is filled with many papers. Only one paper has a black dot. This dot will determine the family that would be chosen to be sacrifice. Wait I am not quite done, if a family is chosen they would have to draw again between each other to see who in the family would be stoned to death. As families went up there was only one family that was chosen and it was the Hutchinson Family, Mrs. Hutchinson was furious by shouting “It wasn’t fare”. As Mr. Summers put back the paper with the dot in the box everyone in the Hutchinson family one by one had to get one paper out. As everyone was finish getting the papers they all opened it one by one. The crowd went silent as Mrs. Hutchinson opens hers; she had the paper with the black dot. She tired getting out of it but it was too late. Everyone in the village gathered around her and stoned her to death even her own family and close friends.
Jackson uses many Symbols when it comes to the objects and even the true meanings of the character’s name. The author used symbolism to help the reader understand the main idea and why the town’s people do these things. Jackson also made it easy for the reader to understand why the characters have the names in the story. There are many symbolic meanings located in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.
Perales4
Mr. Summers name in the lottery represents the tim...
... middle of paper ...
...ngs of the characters last name. After reading this story and looking up information, it now will help know the true meaning of the lottery. Shirley Jackson did a wonderful job in putting the hints to help us understand “The Lottery” a little better.
Works Cited
123 Help Me Editors. “Names in Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’.” 123 Help me. 123 Help me, Inc., n.d. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
123 Help Me Editors. “Religious Symbolism in ‘The Lottery.’”123 Help me. 123 Help me, Inc., n.d. Web 17 Mar 2014.
Cassel Seth. “Symbols in ‘The Lottery’.” Flamingnet. Litpic, LLC, Nov 2005. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
Ma, Martine. “Literary Analysis Essay: ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Word Press. N.P., 10 Jun 2013. Web.17 Mar 2014.
Pirate Teacher and Lentz. “What are symbols in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Enctes. Enctes, Inc., 10 Nov 2011 and Sep 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
There is a Lottery going on today and we all hold a ticket. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson is asking people to stop for a moment and take a look at the traditions around them. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to show that traditions today are sometimes as misguided as the tradition of the lottery in that small town in Somewhere, USA.
In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, Jackson illustrates an average agricultural town that usually wouldn’t be given a second thought, but in this case the innocent appearance is holding a dark secret. Every year in the summer an annual tradition is held known as the lottery. The lottery is held in the small town in order to have a bountiful harvest. All the towns’ people gather and each head of the families must reach into an old black box to grab a white slip of paper. The lottery is then narrowed down to one family once all the white slips of paper are opened. The individual who is possession of a white slip of paper with a black dot has their family each reach into the box and grab a slip of paper of their own. Unfortunately the family member who has the slip of paper with the black dot is sacrificed in order to receive a good season of crops.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
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.
In the story, Jackson introduces characters whose names are very symbolic to the story. The ultimately foreshadow the climax of the story. There is Mr. Summers who conducts the lottery. His name is significant because the lottery takes place on a warm summer day. There is also Mr. Graves who is the postmaster. He helps Mr. Summers prepare the names for the lottery and helps him conduct the lottery. His name is significant because it foreshadows that there will be a grave because at the end of the lottery some one will die. Mr. Graves is also one of the first people in front of the crowd ready to throw stones. He is ultimately sending her to her grave. This hints that there will be a death during the summer, which is the end result of the lottery drawing.
To a first time reader, Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” seems simply as a curious tale with a shocking ending. After repetitive reading of Jackson's tale, it is clear that each sentence is written with a unique purpose often using symbolism. Her use of symbols not only foreshadow its surprise and disturbing ending but allows the reader to evaluate the community's pervert traditional rituals. She may be commenting on the season of the year and the grass being “richly green” or the toying with the meanings of the character's names but each statement applies to the meaning and lesson behind her story.
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", is a story that is very colorful with symbolism and underlying themes. Centrally, there is a heavy emphasis on following blind traditions no matter what the consequences are, and Utopia and perfect society seem to be the goal of the community where the story is set. Harold Bloom argues that Jackson Hit a universal nerve and suggests that the shock effect achieved by Jason "depends upon tapping into the universal fear of arbitrary condemnation and of sanctioned violence (Bloom, 9). In response to readers being upset, Jackson responded that "she wanted to graphically dramatize the 'pointless violence' in people's lives to reveal the general inhumanity to man (Friedman, 64). "The Lottery", is about blind obedience
In “The Lottery”, Jackson wrote about a special tradition of a small village. June 27th was warm and sunny, and it gave the impression like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone knows the lottery as an exciting thing, and everybody wants to win, but this lottery is unlike any other. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning of an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. Though the horrific ending was not expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was not an average lottery. Jackson foreshadowed the death of Tessie Hutchinson with stones, the black box, and the three legged stool; she showed that unquestioning support of tradition can be fatal.
The names of each character hold significant meaning to the lottery. Jackson uses symbolic names to indicate and foreshadow what will happen after the lottery is conducted. The name “Dellacroix” (Jackson, 2) has the meaning of “Of the cross” in French. In this sentence, “.the villagers pronounced this name “Dellacroy” “ (Jackson, 2) shows that people pronounce Dellacroix incorrectly, therefore, provoking the Christian symbol of martyrdom. “Summers” (Jackson, 4) is the surname of the conductor of the Lottery.
"The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice. The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens. On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate. Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice. Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about. Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective use of foreshadowing through the depiction of characters and setting. Effective foreshadowing builds anticipation for the climax and ultimately the main theme of the story - the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and cruelty.
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" symbols are used to enhance and stress the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can be exhibited in people in situations regarding tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just for the sake of keeping a routine. Three of the main symbols that Shirley uses in the story is the setting, black box, and the actual characters names. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the basis of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the culture of the village, and the culture of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage to not only a community, but the entire world. Symbolism plays a large role in "The Lottery" to set the theme of the story and make the reader question traditions.
The Lottery was Shirley Jackson 's most recognized short story. Her story was written with a very bold plot. “ Shirley Jackson wrote of the essentially evil nature of human beings. "The Lottery," tells of a ritual in a typical New England town in which local residents choose one among their number to be sacrificed” this ritual supposedly helps the growth of their crops, and brings fertility to the people(Wanger-Martin). Though there is no actual evidence of ritual making a difference in prosperity. Later on it is even mentioned other villages have dropped the violent tradition. In the Lottery Jackson used a multitude of themes, and symbolism in hopes of leaving a lasting message for the readers. More themes than the ritual become prominent in the novel. For instance many critics agree that the lottery is a tale “which addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the subjugation of women, the dangers of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the tyranny of the status quo”(Wilson, 139-146). All of these are strategically interwoven in the story. Jackson uses a variety of different themes to teach a lesson about man in The
The village has its own unique lottery. The winner of the game will receive a card with a black dot. This means the surrounding villager will stone them to death! Shirley Jackson develops her theme of the danger of blindly following tradition in her short story, "The Lottery" through the use of symbolism, mood, and irony. The black dot represents the winner of the lottery.