“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are two short stories that were written in the 1900’s. These two fictional stories show a negative side of human nature, and both have surprise endings.
“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, begins on a beautiful, warm day at the end of June. The sky was clear, and the children have just finished school. A pleasant mood could be felt, like nothing could go wrong. There were 300 people that live in this rural American village, and they gather in the town square on this particular day for the lottery. An annual tradition, the lottery was conducted by Mr. Summers, and began at ten o’clock. Men gathered around and talked about summer work, the weather, and watched the
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children. The women stood around in groups and gossiped. All seemed well, nothing felt out of place. This contrasts with the setting from “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” Hester, a mother of three and a wife, lived in a nice neighborhood during World War 1 in England. While they lived in a beautiful house, a dreariness and gloom clouded the property. From the corners of the house, whispers could be heard. The whispers haunted the family, while no one said the words, the house cried out, “there must be more money, there must be more money.” Hester loved money, more than her children. She lived a very lavish lifestyle that the family could not afford. At Christmas, when expensive toys littered the floor, the whispers were as loud as usual, especially from behind the new rocking horse. Hester believed that the family was not lucky, “luck causes you to have money,” she told Paul. Paul tried to find his own luck by gambling on horse races, to help the family earn money. This lead to a dark and lonely mood, since Paul wanted to help his mother, who loved money more than him. The themes of “The Lottery,” include tradition, human nature, peace and violence.
Blossoming flowers, rich green grass, and children playing, turned from innocent day to dark and violent. Other towns also followed the lottery tradition, it was a part of their nature. Fathers led the drawing of the lottery, they selected for the rest of their household. The men of the household drew a slip of paper from a black box first. Though when Clyde Dunbar does not show, his wife asks Mr. Summers if she could draw for her family, Mr. Summers asks if she has a son that could draw in place for Mr. Dunbar. This emphasizes the role and status quo of the town. The men are in charge and hold more precedence than the women. Tessie Hutchinson, who arrived late to the lottery, stands out. She speaks up and more often for her family than her husband. Her outbursts and confidence, contrast the social norm. The lottery was performed every year, a traditional practice. The towns loyalty to the ritual, overshadowed the darkness and violence that occurred. The original black box was lost, as well as the original rituals. The lottery continued to be practiced in the belief of tradition. Themes of “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” include greed, luck, and anxiety. Hester loved money more than her family. Greed and anxiety occupied every second of her mind. Even the house knew of the disease that had infected the family. Hester wanted more, more money to buy material objects like furniture, or to send her
children to a nice school. Paul believed that God gave him luck. His mother hoped he was right, since she considered her and her husband not lucky. Anxiety affected Hester and Paul differently. During times of stress, Paul would ride his rocking horse, and Hester would spend money and complain. As “The Lottery,” progresses, everything seems to go as planned. However, conflict arises when Mrs. Hutchinson draws the slip of paper with the black mark. Tessie Hutchinson objects and says that the drawing was not fair. She cries out, as the crowd approaches. She tries to question the lottery, but no one listens. In the end, Tessie Hutchinson, the protagonist was stoned. The town and the lottery who were the antagonists, won. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” Hester and her families lavish lifestyle causes a conflict, her and her husband cannot keep up with their lifestyle. Paul tries to resolve the conflict by betting on horse races. Just like “The Lottery,” the protagonist died at the end, and Hester who was the antagonist got money like she wanted. “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” have different themes, settings, and conflicts. Though both stories have similar dark moods that ended with the death of the protagonists. These two short stories show the negative side of human nature, greed and violence replaced love and peace.
The short story ‘The Lottery’ reveals a village of 300 that assemble for a lottery on June 27th every year. The lottery has been held this day for years and years, and has become a classic tradition. The lottery itself is holy to much of its residents, like Mr. Watson, who states that the village in the north is a pack of young crazy fools for removing the lottery. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanti...
Hicks, Jennifer. "Overview of 'The Lottery'." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
...given up the lottery fools and suggests that the rain may stop coming for them. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” the mother feels that "she felt she must cover up some fault," and even though there's never any particular person forcing her to try and prove her worth by having more, she feels that nebulous need. She wants the "discreet servants" and to be seen as part of the upper class, and her son, understanding his mother's needs, chooses to sacrifice his life.
Written by Shirley Jackson and published in 1948, “The Lottery” is a dystopian short fiction about a cruel and barbaric lottery ritual. The plot and characters illustrate that certain traditions ought to be abolished for the betterment of society. At the beginning of the story, the entire village gather around every year on June 27th to attend the lottery, which is mandatory. Once everyone arrived to the center, an old man named Joe brought a black box. Eventually, the heads of each family have to pull a ticket from this box, but they cannot be opened and must remain folded until everyone took their turn. Eventually, after everyone had their turn, everyone has to open up the paper and show it up for everyone to witness. If the head of the family pulled a blank ticket, then the family has nothing to
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.
The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, revolves around a series of traditions that no one seems to follow anymore. This story begins by explaining how the lottery process works. It takes place on June 27 of every year. All the people of the village gather in the town's square- husbands, wives, and children. Each head of household pulls a small piece of paper out of a black box. All but one piece of paper will be blank. The piece with the black-penciled spot is the piece that will send someone in that family to death. After that piece of paper is pulled from the box the members of that family must draw. The member that pulls the spotted paper out gets stoned to ...
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner. Boston: New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 242-249. Print.
The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a community that has a yearly lottery pull. The short story is set in a small town that is seemingly normal at first. Every year the town has a lottery pull, in which one person is chosen at random, to be stoned to death by all of their fellow townsmen. The lottery is a tradition that was started many years ago, and is kept alive by the current residents. By using symbolism, irony, and setting Jackson shows the true darkness within the entirety of the human race.
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.
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...
The short stories “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, and “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D.H. Lawrence, do not appear to convey the same theme or purpose. However, a careful effort to compare and contrast these two stories will illustrate a shared trait between key characters of both stories. Mrs. Hutchinson, from “The Lottery,” appears to be selfish. This remains a characteristic shared with Paul’s mother in “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” However, the driving force behind this trait is completely different.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about an annual lottery draw in a small town. The story sets place in a small town in New England. Every year a lottery is held, in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Jackson uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the lottery.
Summers made sure all the villagers showed up to began the lottery. He start to call the names of each family, and the head of the household went to the black box to pick a slip of paper without looking. Once each family received a paper, they check their paper simultaneously. After a long pause, villagers learned that Bill Hutchinson received the “winning” ticket. Ms. Hutchinson protested about been the “winner”, calming her husband did not get enough time to draw the ticket.