Christmas, a federal holiday since the year 1870; The name “Christmas” derives from Old English Christes maesse, meaning “Christ’s mass.” It has been my favorite holiday since before I can remember. I love the delicious food, the various presents under the tree, and of course, spending time with my family. The holiday celebrations at the Rogers house meant more when the majority of us were still young. Now, we are older, and all have to work, Christmas is the only holiday we get to spend together. Much like, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, she writes about a tradition that she wants to continue, just like I wish to continue a lifelong Christmas tradition.
The tease of waking up on Christmas Eve, and not being able to open my presents only made me more excited to open my gifts on Christmas Day. I can usually talk my parents into giving me at least one present, and I would not stop until they finally gave in. However, Christmas Day is even more exciting to me. Running into my sister’s room, I remember jumping on her bed yelling, “Wake up, wake up.” I kept screaming louder, “It is time to open presents,
…show more content…
It is just one more reason why I love the holidays. Each year she calls or texts everyone asking, “What do you want to eat for our family dinner?” Therefore, she always makes something new every year. The food I look forward to the most is turkey, mashed potatoes, and Sister Sherbert’s rolls. I always ask for the same thing every year, unlike most of the family. My nanny also makes peanut butter blossom cookies, and they are my absolute favorite dessert. No matter what, I can always be found baking in the kitchen with her the Saturday before our family Christmas; which we always have on the Sunday before the holiday. I do not enjoy cooking, but I know my nanny enjoys my company. Plus, I can always sneak one or two cookies when she is not
While 'The Lottery' is a fictitious story it can be argued that it mirrors the attitude of American culture in how it addresses religious tradition in its major holidays and celebrations.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role in how they go about their everyday lives. In Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," the citizens of a small farming town follow one such tradition. A point is made regarding human nature in relation to tradition. The story begins on a beautiful summer afternoon.
My favorite holiday is Christmas because I feel joyful. Also, I can feel how warm the atmosphere is almost like a fireplace. In an apartment of white walls, there is the living room with a tall, dark green Christmas tree decorated with colorful blue, pink and purple Christmas ornaments, and colorful red bright lights. In the meantime, my mom and my husband are cooking dinner, and there is the smell of a pumpkin candle burning on top of the table. While we wait for the food to be ready, we all sit down in the living room to watch some classic movies like “Rudolph”, “The little Drummer boy”, and even if it’s not to classic “Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. Eventually, we can smell the orange chicken and the yellow rice with mozzarella
Christmas has consumed itself. At its conception, it was a fine idea, and I imagine that at one point its execution worked very much as it was intended to. These days, however, its meaning has been perverted; its true purpose ignored and replaced with a purpose imagined by those who merely go through the motions, without actually knowing why they do so.
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
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.
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.
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.
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 famous short story, “The Lottery,” was published in 1948 and remains to this day one of the most enduring and affecting American works in the literary canon. “The Lottery” tells the story of a farming community that holds a ritualistic lottery among its citizens each year. Although the text initially presents audiences with a close-knit community participating in a social event together on a special day, the shocking twist at the work’s end—with the death of the lottery’s “winner” by public stoning—has led to its widespread popularity, public outcry and discussion, and continued examination in modern times (Jackson). One potential critical theory that can be applied to Jackson’s “The Lottery” is the reader-response approach. This analytical lens is a “theory ... that bases the critical perspective of a text on ‘the reader’ and his or her personal interpretation” of that text (Parker 314). Reader-response criticism was coined by literary critic Louise Rosenblatt in the mid-20th century. It soon served as a cornerstone of literary movement in the 1960s and 1970s that later became intrinsic to the study of other schools of literary thought today. In using reader-response theory to examine “The Lottery” in a contemporary context, one might perform reading surveys and metacognitive questionnaires to determine whether the short story still proves resonant and thought-provoking. Therefore, just as “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson evoked an explicit and even fierce reaction in the past, so too does the use of reader-response criticism today help reveal that the short story may still hold the ability to sustain both its rising tension and surprising turn at the end.
Christmastime was always a magical time of year for me. The beautifully decorated shopping malls, with toys everywhere you looked, always fascinated me. And the houses, with the way their lights would glow upon the glistening snow at night, always seemed to calm me. But decorating the Christmas tree and falling asleep underneath the warm glow of the lights, in awe that Santa Claus would soon be there, was the best part of it all. As a child, these things enchanted me. Sure, the presents were great, but the excitement and mystery of Christmas; I loved most of all. Believing…that’s what it was all about. Believing there really was a Santa and waking up Christmas morning, realizing he’d come, as my sleepy eyes focused on all the fancily wrapped presents before me.
The characters in a short story are vital to understanding everything that the author has put into her work. Most of Shirley Jackson’s characters in “The Lottery” adapt as the story goes on, revealing their true opinions and behaviors. Her characters are also true to life, which establishes realism in her stories. Tess, Old Man Warner, and the women of this story all provide outlooks and opinions that shape “The Lottery” into the constructive story it is.
The cruelty of belief that leads to the celebration of happiness has shown in the short story called “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson. As the villagers, in this story, slay one of their neighbors every year, they believe that this sacrifice is going to bring them abundantly crops. People in this village seem to concede to this tradition without flout. Just as in Christmas, Jesus Christ, who is a scapegoat, volunteer himself to the sacrifice for everyone’s sin. People celebrate this tradition remembering his birth every year and believing that Christ has protected them from any adversary. Therefore, the similarity between “The Lottery” and Christmas is people do not want to stop celebrating the tradition. However, the confliction is one person gets selected unwillingly as a scapegoat every year in “The Lottery,” for this year is Tessie Hutchinson. As for Christmas, Jesus Christ is willing to be the one who atones for everyone’s sin.
What is Christmas all about? After reading the play a Dolls house Christmas, I realized that Christmas
My most memorable Christmas is one from my past. I was about six years old. I clearly remember sitting in class on the last day of school before Christmas vacation anticipating the bell to ring and signify that the classes were finally over. As the bell rang, I ran out of that class, and once I got home I was ready in an instant to leave for my grandmother’s where I would spend my holidays. It was a two hour drive to my grandmother’s house. I was very impatient throughout the entire drive. I couldn’t wait to see my grandma, my cousin, and my aunts. To make things better, however, snow started to fall filling me with hopes of a snowball fight the next day.