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Analysis of shirley jacksons the lottery
Themes of the lottery by Shirley Jackson
Themes of the lottery by Shirley Jackson
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Every single family, every single culture, every single country, every single continent follows sort of tradition. As humans we like routine and the comfort we can find in sameness, we feel pressured to go along with things as they are without questions, even if it's wrong. Peer pressure is a hotly discussed topic in the news today and in literature. The short story “The Lottery”, demonstrates the effects of peer pressure and its consequences, especially when tradition is involved. There are three major examples of this peer pressure used in the story, and it allows the reader to understand the fact that it can be dangerous to blindly follow tradition. The first example of the use of peer pressure as a result of tradition occurs …show more content…
Hutchinson has the marked paper, “Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand.” This quote shows how tradition and the perceived power of others can form boundaries more powerful than love. In this case tradition caused a man to stand against his own wife. This also demonstrates how tradition is often accepted, and the majority of people are afraid to stand up for what is right, no matter how closely they are affected …show more content…
And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.” This quote shows how naive and innocent young children are, and how, because of this, they are more vulnerable to peer pressure than adults. This quote is stating that someone gave Davy some stones, which were to be used to assist in the stoning of his own mother. This shows how heartless people can be, and also how negative issues, traditions, and events can be overlooked, and in some ways that may be overseen, it is even encouraged. In conclusion, the short story, “The Lottery” demonstrates peer pressure as a result of blindly following tradition. This is shown three times throughout the story when the boys collect stones at the beginning, in the middle when Mr. Hutchinson turns on his wife, and at the end when Davy Hutchinson is holding a
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.
“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.
“The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.
Tradition is an evil dictator. Tradition can be simple or complex. Tradition has the power to force someone to do something or not do something. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the reader gets an uneasy feeling that tradition dictates everything. Jackson makes it obvious that this village is run completely on tradition and that everyone fears change.
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 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...
"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.
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.
There are regions in parts of the globe that take part in normal activities that, here in the United States, would be considered completely abnormal, even inhumane. Yet, traditional ties sewn into a cultural realm deems certain events, such as “the lottery”, to be well within the bounds of socially acceptable. Old Man Warner epitomizes the relevance of the power of tradition in this short story, and the symbol that takes shape from it. A veteran of seventy-seven years in the lottery, he snorts at the idea of giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that… Pack of young fools,” he says when it is mentioned that some towns have given it up. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore…” he spouts off, illogically. The lottery was so steeped in the town’s traditional makeup that even the barbaric physical act of killing someone with stones was not the least bit
“The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a provoking piece of literature about a town that continues a tradition of stoning, despite not know why the ritual started in the first place. As Jackson sets the scene, the villagers seem ordinary; but seeing that winning the lottery is fatal, the villagers are then viewed as murders by the reader. Disagreeing with the results of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson is exposed to an external conflict between herself and the town. Annually on June 27th, the villagers gather to participate in the lottery. Every head of household, archetypally male, draws for the fate of their family, but Tessie protests as she receives her prize of a stoning after winning the lottery. Jackson uses different symbols – symbolic characters, symbolic acts, and allegories – to develop a central theme: the
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.
...veryone was against the person who didn’t follow the tradition. No matter how normal the people of the town seemed to be in the beginning of the story, they turned out to be vicious cruel people. The stones turned them into monsters
Written by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” is a short story about a town that hosts an annual lottery that decides which person is stoned by the rest of the town. Jackson slowly and subtly builds the suspense throughout the story, only resolving the mystery surrounding the lottery at the very last moment, as the townspeople surround Tessie with their stones. The symbolism utilized helps demonstrate the overall significance of the story, such as the lottery itself. The lottery shows the way people desperately cling to old traditions, regardless of how damaging they may be. In addition, it can show how callous many will act while staring at a gruesome situation, until they become the victims.
In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses the symbolism of a stone to show the cruelty of the human nature. Jackson introduces the story with a warm and pleasant setting suggesting that the lottery is just a typical day. The story, then, quickly changes direction when the children gather and make “a great pile of stones in
The lottery is a ritual that has been around for years and years and it has developed into a way of life for the people of the town. When June comes rolling along everyone is anticipating the lottery. Kids fill their pockets full of rocks and plans are discussed about making a new box. They can not wait to attend and finally get it over with. This drawing seems to transform the people. Tension builds before the lottery occurs, but the townspeople are still able to joke with one another. Tension increases in the story when the author, Shirley Jackson, implies to the reader that Mr. Hutchinson has drawn the marked paper. We assume he does because he walks up on to the stage with his family and they are then made to draw again from the worn out black box. Mr. Hutchinson reaches his hand in and grabs out a piece with his children and his wife following in succession. The one that holds the winning ticket is Mrs. Hutchinson.