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Themes for the lottery by Shirley Jackson
The lottery from a different perspective
Symbolism used in the lottery by Shirley Jackson
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Set in a small town of New England, an annual horrifying lottery takes place. It isn’t a customary lottery where the winner is rewarded with great prizes and masses of money; instead, it is a drawing of fate to mark the next victim’s death. The victim, chosen at random, is violently murdered by every member of the village. This short story, labeled as Gothic fiction, was written by Shirley Jackson in the year of 1948. Through the themes, Jackson implies the weaknesses of humankind, revealing the underlying evilness of human nature. The social events during the time period in which “The Lottery” was published influenced the content in that it created a parallel image between reality and the actual story.
A major theme that was present throughout the entire story was the role of genders. The community in which the setting of the story takes place is based on a patriarchal society; the male population plays a dominant role over the females. The females, the minor populace, are viewed as inferior and do not posses authority in neither the village nor their lives. In the early 1900s, women were at a constant battle for equality. Although they finally gained the right to vote in 1920, they were still struggling to achieve complete acceptance. When “The Lottery” was published in 1948, the women were making much progress towards equality, but were still viewed as inferior. This occurrence in reality mirrors the theme of unequal role genders in the story. On page 259, Jackson states: “Bobby Martin ducked under his mother’s grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his father and his oldest brother.” This shows how the stereotypical values th...
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...r the same cause. These riots had so much power that eventually they were “brought into the workforce to hold jobs from which they had previously been excluded” (Weisser). The behaviors of large groups are what identify the mob mentality of a crowd; it gives power to society, just as the community experiences as the result of the annual lottery.
When Shirley Jackson published this story, the audience responded with negative feedback; it terrified the readers to read about such cruelty and inhumanity. Jackson wrote this story to show the reality of corrupt society and the underlying secrets of wickedness hidden in human nature. Through this story, people can see the truth and value of reality and realize that the world is full of immoral practices and beliefs. Jackson creates a parallel society that could be compared to the world and represented by certain events.
The narrator of the story and its point of view are important to understand the theme of the story. Jackson does not mention who is the narrator of the story, but it seems the narrator is a woman who is Jackson herself, and she is part of the society because she knows the townspeople’s character and the event that happens in the town. Although the narrator is part of the society, she seems to be a trustworthy narrator. She tells the story in third point of view with an objective omniscience. She does not bias to any character and describes the story based on what she sees. The point of view in the story is important because it leads the reader to think the reason why the townspeople conduct such a horrible tradition which is one part of the theme of the story. The theme might change if the narrator tells the story in different point of view because she will not tell the story in objective view.
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.
Jackson is trying to prove that in small towns, tradition means everything and is a way to link families and generations. However, at the same time, the author is also trying to shed light that not all traditions are worth preserving. The acceptance of the ritual murder lottery has become engrained in the town fabric. The ordinary residents of the town have no reason to kill their own peers other than by tradition. No one in Jackson’s story stops to question their judgment on wh...
First of all, Shirley Jackson shows that blindly following tradition can create violence between the people
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about a once a year lottery that is performed in a small town. The story takes place in a town in New England. In this particular village during the lottery, one person is chosen at random to be stoned to death by the people. For nearly a century the lottery has been performed. This reoccurring event is not looked down upon and is accepted by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Jackson uses names, objects and the setting to mask irony of the lottery.
Why would a civilized and peaceful town would ever suggest the horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at anytime and the most ordinary people can commit them. Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and “The Lottery”, perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story’s characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lacks significant individuating detail, most critics view “The Lottery.” As a modern-day parable or fable, which obliquely addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the danger of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the mass will. Shirley Jackson also addresses cruelty by the citizen’s refusal to stand up and oppose “The Lottery.” Violence and cruelty is a major theme in “The Lottery.”
...f their family (Jackson 867). In everyday life, we posses the same selfish attitude portrayed in the story. What is one of a child’s favorite words? It’s "mine!" We constantly say well "it’s better you than me" and "it’s every man for himself." It’s pretty scary _when you actually think about it, because you realize we really are that selfish.
The chances of winning the lottery currently stands at one in two hundred and ninety-two million (Becker). Every year, Americans spend over seventy billion dollars in hopes of becoming a lottery winner, but what happens when these people are not winning money, but instead they are winning a death sentence? Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, follows a small town that conducts a traditional ceremony every year that results in the death of one citizen. Each family is forced to draw one paper, which ultimately results in one person drawing a paper with a black dot. That black dot symbolizes death. In this instance, a woman named Tessie Hutchinson becomes the martyr for other women in her society. Shirley Jackson’s literary work, “The
To start, Shirley Jackson speaks about the importance of the black box and the relevance it has on the townspeople. The black box is seen as a symbol of fear and subserv...
Shirley Jackson uses symbols and themes to give hints on how the action of the story is going to occur.Shirley Jackson couldn’t have sent this message any better. Till this day there is still persecution and violence to innocent people whether it’s because of their race, beliefs and/or
Jackson effectively employs a nonspecific, widely relatable method of characterization, as well as a few meaningful names, in order to allow the reader to empathize with the characters; proving that humanity can identify with the inability to
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” a story which demonstrates “the pointless violence and general inhumanity” in everyday life, the use of literary devices and elements of the story contribute to the final effect of shock and horror. In “The Lottery”, townsfolk are preparing for a raffle of some sort towards the beginning of the story. At the end the reader knows what the raffle is for: the prize of death. With this twisted and unexpected ending, comes the use of literary devices such as foreshadowing, irony, and other elements. In the beginning of the story, children are gathering for the event, and are playing like normal kids. However, these children are “selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (1), for no reason that the reader is
Jackson shows that tradition, one of the biggest themes in this short story, is broken. If a tradition is kept on through the years, the meaning should not be forgotten, but in this town they have
Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’, conveys a number of radical gender roles and stereotypes for men and women. This short story uses extreme and morbid themes to suggest these particular gender roles and highlights the negative aspects of patriarchal societies through the ritual of the ‘lottery’. Jackson depicts these themes by outlining gender roles in families and gender roles in society. These aspects are conveyed through their ideas of family structure, differing dialogue between men and women, and the lottery ritual itself.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” takes place in an idealistic small town in the summer. The opening lines describe how beautiful the town is and how happy its inhabitants are. However, this portrayal of a flawless town is a direct contrast to the hidden horrors that await the reader within the town square. Jackson wrote “The Lottery” to illustrate the fact that the inhumane practices that occur worldwide desensitizes individuals to where the loss of a human life is consider commonplace.