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Relationship between literature and society Pdf
Relationship between literature and society Pdf
Literary devices in the lottery shirley jackson
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Should tradition be a rational for committing irrational actions in life? In Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson really poses the question of whether or not tradition should be a rational for committing irrational actions in life and emphasizes the point of traditions potential effect of controlling one's actions on the basis of whatever traditions that a person values. "The Lottery" is a story where the day starts out as a nice day but as the day is lived through, the result of the outcome of the village's lottery is that Tessie is stoned to death in regards to the village's tradition. Shirley Jackson does not like the lottery and its outcome by the tone she uses in the story, her description of the characters and the symbols …show more content…
that she uses in her story. One way Shirley shows her dislike of the lottery and its outcome is the tone she uses. The tone that is used is a negative tone. Irrationality is a key component outlining Shirley's negative tone of tradition that plays a major role in people's actions. An example is when "the women "came shortly after menfolk"[Jackson 2]. That shows the key component of irrationality since that statement is referring to that the status of men being superior to women by having the women proceed to the traditional event of the lottery. Furthermore, that statement shows dislike towards the lottery since that the writer is essentially outlining that the status of men is far greater than women based on the tradition and time, which excused the rational of men's actions of being the key importance of the lottery and the women just being the insignificant part of the lottery process given that they are not men. Another example is when "all the women began to speak at once saying who is it"[Jackson 7]? Basically, that statement shows components of irrationality since that this statement is setting up a standard that men have to be strong with their emotions or have any feelings in their life about the question of fear of who will get stoned to death in the lottery. Interestingly enough, that shows dislike of the lottery since that the tone of the statement is a negative tone given that the standard of men being strong is a standard of the villages tradition that influences the behavior of men having to act manly and women having to act like a women because of the role that tradition plays in influencing people. Besides the tone that Shirley uses in displaying a dislike toward the lottery and its outcome, her description of character is also used. Description of character is a way that Shirley shows her dislike towards the lottery and its outcome.
The immoral dilemma of society choosing to essentially kill or be killed during the lottery is a very important component to consider meaning that the society of the village itself is choosing to abide by the traditions that the town has always done and trapped itself in a repeated history of making the choices of either abide by it and hope there name is not picked for getting stoned to death or get stoned to death by the society, which are both bad outcomes. An example is when Tessie says "it isn't fair"[Jackson 9], which Tessie says before she is stoned to death. In showing the dilemma, that dialogue from Tessie's character really communicated the message of society being in a dilemma given that they are choosing to allow the brutal behavior of stoning someone to death in their tradition to go on. In fact, Tessie as a person is choosing to participate in the village’s tradition given that she decides to stay and participate in the horrific stoning execution event rather than making a decision to leave and not take any part of the crazy traditional event of murder in the village, which society interprets as sacrifice for their tradition. Essentially, the statement that Tessie made shows the author's dislike towards the lottery and its outcome since that the character gets to face horrible fate of death by societies decisions on sticking with their immoral dilemma …show more content…
rather than not allow their irrational tradition of sacrificing a human being from happening in the name of tradition. Another example is when Old Man Warner says "come on, come on, everyone"[Jackson 9]. Basically, that shows the immoral dilemma of society based on Old Man Warner's dialogue since that everyone in the society is making the conscious choice of choosing to murder Tessie without any rationality in doing so and rather are succumbing to their own fears and paranoia's of not participating and keeping their tradition going, meaning that tradition is the most important thing in people's lives that takes top priority over everything. Dislike of the lottery from Shirley is shown since that the statement of Warner is implying that killing in the name of tradition is alright in the name of tradition, yet it is not alright to do it in normal circumstances, which is equating that murder with an irrational purpose linking to tradition is not murder, despite still taking the core principles of murder and saying that killing in the name of tradition is okay, which is in the village's societies eyes and that is the main issue an cause of dilemma being bound to the village's society. What that means is that people's view that murder is okay in the name of tradition is bounding society to the rules and conventions of the village's old tradition and is blocking rationality in people's minds from being truly considered by the people of the village given their choice of putting tradition as the number one priority. Aside from the description of characters, symbols are another thing that Shirley uses to show her dislike of the lottery and its outcome. Using symbols is another way that Shirley shows her dislike towards the lottery and its outcome.
The issues of societies human nature is emphasized by many of the symbols that Shirley uses, if not all of them. One example of a symbol is the stones. In the society of the village, the stones represent the slow evolution of people turning into irrational killers given their weak will of being influenced by tradition. At the beginning of the story, some people were getting stones ready and then the society of the story slowly developed into what they would be portrayed as irrational killers with a dark human nature given that the society choosing to kill Tessie without any rational reason with stones and just do not use any thinking but the excuse of sticking with the village’s tradition to stone Tessie to death, which shows Shirley showing dislike of the lottery with the stones symbolizing the people turning into killers with their dark human nature in their minds being influenced by tradition. What that means is that the stone can be a symbol to really expand on the theme of human nature being greatly influenced by tradition in the village, otherwise people would have just minded their own businesses and go home, which in the time of this story, other people like to interfere in other people’s affairs. Another example of a symbol is the old black box. It represents the issue of why the society is having their troubles to begin with. The societies overall feel is that the
box is an important part of the tradition and that the selection of sacrifice comes from that box. Considering fundamentals of the villages tradition, it is no wonder that the village’s society has so many issues on life and death given that society is once again choosing based on the weak wills of many individuals, where there human nature is doing what they have always been told and actions that they have been doing all there life that people since that the precedence of tradition is put above everything, even human’s right of living their lives the way they want to, in accordance to rationality. That simply means that tradition is taking over people’s human nature and that Shirley Jackson is trying to show that issue, where in “The Lottery”, she is trying to emphasize how powerful that the symbol of the black box is in taking control of the villages weak will of choosing to kill someone in the name of tradition rather than move on with their life and be rational on every choice they make in their lives. Tone, character description and symbols are three different ways that Shirley Jackson displays her dislike towards the lottery and its outcome. Her use of tone displayed her dislike her tone is negative and is trying to emphasize on societies the key components of irrationality that plays a role in people’s actions. The usage of character description showed Shirley’s dislike of the lottery and its outcome in exploring the immoral dilemma that the society of the village is putting itself in choices that they are consciously making. Symbol usages from Shirley show the dislike of the lottery and its outcome by the issues of the village’s society’s human nature that can be brought up by various symbols used in her story. Overall, the question of whether or not tradition should be a rational for committing irrational actions can be brought up so many times by Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” and the consequences along with the choice of society based on tradition being a rational for committing irrational actions is shown in great depth by Shirley Jackson’s tone, character description and the symbols that she used to try to portray the true purpose of the messages and themes that she wanted to display in “The Lottery”.
Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.
One main theme in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is tradition nonetheless. Although tradition is most commonly thought to be somewhat of a social glue that holds families and communities together, Shirley Jackson reveals a whole new side consisting of the dangers following traditional practices. The lottery is normalized as being an early summer ritual that proves to be consistent and promising in a plentiful harvest, as mentioned by Old Man Warner. The real purpose of the lottery is never fully explained, but it is still conducted every year without suggestion of discontinuation. There proves to be a pattern of tendency to be trapped by tradition.
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.
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.
In The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the people of the village are consumed by a tradition. Every year in the month of June, they conduct a lottery to determine who will be stoned. The unjustified killing of a human being is widely viewed as an iniquitous act. Although surrounding communities have ceased the tradition of the lottery, this society continues the tradition. The idea of not practicing the tradition has been brought up numerous times within the community but “the subject was allowed to fade off ” (351). The community was conscience of the tradition being unethical but because it was a part of their heritage and believed to determine the success of their harvest, no one would do anything about the lottery. Once she is picked from the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson notices that the people are not conducting the lottery fairly and decides to stand up against the tradition. It can be inferred that women were not considered equal to the males of the village. Tessie—a woman— had the courage to stand against the tradition. Tessie understood that not all traditions are good. A tradition can be so engraved into an individual that they forget its purpose. In the story...
Shirley Jackson?s insights and observations about society are reflected in her shocking and disturbing short story The Lottery. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first is the shocking tendency for societies to select a scapegoat and second is the idea that communities are victims of social tradition and rituals.
for summer break, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer.
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.
Death by stones just does not seem so bad anymore. In the story The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson uses a chance based ritual to have a small community come together. The celebration is call a Lottery which takes two days to set up and only two hours to be finished. The celebration is the bringing of a community to come closer to become a close nit nation. The celebration brings much joy, happiness, and relaxation, so much that even some do not take it so serious. The author gives the example that some villagers even forget about the celebration. However as much joy that it brings, misery comes along with it. Out of the entire community one person is chosen, They then decide if it shall be an honor or a course. Throughout the story many characters
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 less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it” (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual “Lottery”. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. “I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the theme that blindly following traditions is dangerous in her short story “The Lottery” through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony.
Everyone has their own way of solving problems; however, ritual is a form that people doing one thing in the same way. It defines as “the prescribed form of conducting a formal secular ceremony.” However if the meaning of ritual is mistaken, the consequence could be unpredictable." The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson gives us a lecture about a tortuous ritual. The story takes place in a small village with 300 citizens, they gather for a yearly lottery which everyone should participate. The story leads to a horrific ending by people forgetting the concept of ritual.
In her story “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson attacks social conformity and cultural mindlessness. Even though stoning someone to death is incredibly inhumane, the townsfolk still carry on tradition in fear of what might happen if the lottery was abolished. Also, the one person who rises against the lottery, Mrs. Hutchinson, ends up being the one who gets the “honor” of winning the lottery, which indirectly shows that those who cry out against conformity get punished, proving that maybe conformity is the only chance people have at survival and safety.
Shirley Jackson’s third-person point of view in “the Lottery” creates dramatic irony through a sequence of events that leads to a horrifying conclusion. Jackson creates a scenario where common people enjoy doing businesses at their hometown; this leads to her description of the lottery in order for readers to see the transition from a happy setting to a scary conclusion. In summary, Jackson’s point of view gives readers opportunity to discover the major character’s conclusion through setting, characters, and irony.’
Would you believe that there was once a village where everyone would partake in a terrible event, but think it was innocent because of how they blindly followed a tradition? The short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson communicates this theme by showing how the villagers participate in a lottery every year. In life, there are people who follow tradition because they have to, or they are used to following without question. The author, Shirley Jackson, was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. In 1937, Shirley Jackson attended Syracuse University where she began to write short stories.