Gender Roles In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In the Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery”, gender roles and positions play the largest part. From the first impression of the book, the lack of one dominant female character in the story arguably illustrate the assumptions women have been ignored and are seen as inferior. The author has used different literary devices to prove this point, including the interesting plot development, clever symbol use, and use of prevalent theme in the story. These devices prove to the reader of the story how the women lack positions in our societies. This paper will look at how women are portrayed in the Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery”, their roles and positions against men in the society.

At the onset of the story, a woman is killed after she screamed

that the lottery was unfair. Most astonishingly, she is stoned to death even by her family members. Tessie’s death shows that the women do not have the authority or rather place to fight for their civil rights in this society. In this case, the real crime is not killing but symbolically killing of the woman who was fighting for her civil rights. Her desperateness and position in the society are even seen clear when her husband shuts her off when she try to raise the alarm about unfairness in the lottery; he says, “Shut up, Tessie” (Jackson, 5). This shows that no one is on the women’s side even their close family friends and relatives. In other words, the women in this society are not supposed to have any opinion on the decision made by men or rather complain about their decision. In this case, women are supposed to be loyal to anything and any decision made by men.
When Mrs. Adams brought the idea that lottery was not played anywhere else on earth, the Old Man Warner ignores her research by saying that people who do not play lottery anymore are nothing but “Pack of young fools” (Jackson, 4). Again, in this case, the story shows the desperate position of women in the society. The author has set the story in a very small town where gossips are easily flown. She uses women to spread the gossips. The author could not assign women a good role but shown them as rumors spreaders.
At the beginning of the story, the author has shown boys as key players of society development.

In page 1 of the story the author shows the role of boys and girls, “the boys made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of other boys” while the girls seem more peaceful, simply “talking among themselves looking over their shoulders at the boys”. This shows that boys are aggressive in the society, but girls have nothing good they can offer to the community apart from spreading rumors and thinking about boys. Young boys and girls are the future of the society, and therefore when they inherit the current conditions and situations about the role and position of men and women in the society, the society will never change its poor beliefs. The boys who will be men soon will never respect or give attention to a decision made by women who are now girls. This means that women will never have any position in the

society.
The superiority of men over women is also shown by the author when there is an argument that involves men and women in this society. For example, the argument about the existence of lottery in other communities between Mrs. Adams and the Old Man Warner, the woman’s decision was not given any position in the argument, but it was rather ignored by the old man’s poor argument. Secondly, when Tessie tried to argue with men over the fairness of lottery process, his decision and the argument were ignored by even her husband and ended up stoned. The two instances show that women will never win any argument with men, and their decisions do not play any part in the society. In short, men have all the powers in the society.
Women are also portrayed as simple and subservient to their sons and husbands.

The women in the story are supposed to respect their husband and their son too. Their children have also learned that women do not have powers in the society. For example, when children are called by their mother for more than four times they come reluctantly, but when their father calls them for only one time, they come quickly. As I quote, “Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times” (Jackson, 1). On another instance, everyone condescends Tessie Hutchinson, who was late for the lottery event just because her husband rounded up all her kids and brought them but forgot to fetch her. She says, “Thought my old man was out back stacking wood” (Jackson, 2). This shows that men value their kids more than their wives. This is the main reason even kids do not respect women who are their

mothers.
In conclusion, the author has represented women as second-class citizens who do not have any value or position in the society. On the other hand, men are seen as the society leaders who speak and do important things like planning for taxes, tractors, and planting (Jackson, 1). Women biggest role in the society is to be loyal to every man and gossip. The story represents the rotten part of our society which only men have big roles and position. Women are ignored, and their decisions are shown as irrelevant in the society. Children have also gone to an extent of disrespecting women due to the way they are treated by the elders.