The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Character Analysis

527 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sociological theory in the lottery

Could winning the lottery really be breathe taking? In the story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, breathe taking would be a perfect description of the final events. On June 27th in a small town village, warm from the summer’s sun. There were men, women, boys, and girls who were heading to the town center for this year’s Lottery. During the introduction many characters were introduced however, two characters in particular stood out the most throughout the story, and there names are Mr. Summers and Mrs. Hutchinson. Mr. Summers was a round faced jovial man, he conducted many activities including the yearly Lottery. He ran the Coal Buisness and was also the town’s mayor. Frequently Mr. Summers came across as joyful and full of life however, he has …show more content…

Hutchinson was a housewife that cleaned dishes and served meals to her family throughout the day. She appears very nervous as well as joyful when she arrives at the town center for the lottery. She does not favor the lottery infact she wants nothing to do with it at all, and once again we ask ourselves why? During the lottery her husband Bill Hutchinson was selected and each family member had to select from the black box. At this time Mrs. Hutchinson kept screaming at everyone that it wasn’t fair and that Mr. Summers didn’t allow enough time for Bill to select the paper he wanted. However her plead for justice didn’t change the fact that she was selected and fear was seen on her face. After the Hutchinson family selected there pieces you can really feel the tension between one another. As they revealed their slips of paper one by one her face got more and more pale. Finally her and her husband had to open their slips and she refused, out of patients Mr. Summers tells Bill to open his wives slip only to reveal a black spot. Tears fell upon her face and considering the fact the she had been chosen you may believe it’s normal however they were not tears of joy, but tears of sorrow. As you may configure the lottery wasn’t such a lucky event in this time, infact the lottery was quite overwhelming although it had a purpose. The purpose of the lottery was to have a drawing by family first the men then the women and, whoever was selected in the end would be stoned in order

Show More
Related

  • Symbolism In The Possibility Of Evil By Shirley Jackson

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    short story “The Lottery” has the main character Mrs.Hutchinson in for a wicked surprise. Both

    Read More

  • Analysis of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • How Does Jackson Create Suspense In The Lottery

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Summer states, “Now I’ll read the names- heads of families first- and the men come up and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has a turn. Everything clear (568)?” Given that today’s lottery winners receive money, a reader might assume winning in this short story would be a good thing. The men held the slips over papers nervously in their hands. After a long, breathless pause, Mr. Summers says, “All right, fellows (568).” The head of the family opens the slip of paper and the terrible fate awaits the winner. The winner was the Hutchinson family. Tessie Hutchinson instantly states, “I think we ought to start over… I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him enough time to choose. Everybody saw that (571).” The reader may still not understand what the prize is or may be confused on why each family member now needs to draw a slip of paper from the old black

    Read More

  • Sacrifice in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    The point of view of tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is the normal once of year gathering on the townspeople. This gathering is held in order to pick, via a lottery drawing, to decide who in the town is going to be stoned to death. “The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many people the lottery took two days and had started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, and the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, pp. 251). The fact that the people gather and discuss everyday issue prior to the start of the lottery all point to the blind tradition of selecting some to be stoned to death.

    Read More

  • Irony in the Story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” irony is an underlying theme used throughout the story. The setting is introduced as a “clear and sunny” day, but ends with the brutal death of a housewife (715). The two people who essentially run the town, Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers, also have ironic names. In addition, the characters and the narrator make ironic statements throughout the story.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Connotation In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Typically, when someone thinks of a lottery they think of something positive and exciting but contrary to this idea in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the connotation has an entirely different meaning. As the story begins, readers lean towards the belief that the town in which Jackson depicts is filled with happiness and joy. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 247) We soon realize that this notion is far from the truth. As the townspeople gather in the square for the annual lottery, which sole purpose is to stone someone to death by randomly pulling a paper out of a black box with a black dot on it, it is learned

    Read More

  • Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mr. Summers is a bright and cheerful man. His attitude, demeanor, and name represent the summer. Mr.Graves' name represents what is about to happen. They are sending someone to their grave. These names are obvious as to what they mean.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Symbolism Essay

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similarly, a boy from the Watson family was nervously drawing for his mother and himself. This is where the tension and the suspense of the story begin to build, as the reader can tell that the characters are growing increasingly worried as more names are called. Mr. Adams and Old Man Warner discuss the north village, a town contemplating abandoning the lottery. Old Man Warner calls them “crazy” (Jackson 294), and that “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 294). This is another example of the rigidness of the townspeople when it comes to their old traditions, as well as beginning to show that the lottery isn’t exactly a positive event, as many towns are dropping it.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Violence In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tessie Hutchinson was angry that her husband had gotten the lottery, so the family drew again. In the final draw, the crowd saw that Tessie had gotten the paper with the black dot. The instant the crowd knew who got the lottery, they began grabbing the stones the boys had piled up earlier. Formerly, Mr. Summers joined the crowd and said “let’s finish quickly” to be in time for noon dinner(Jackson, 7). At this instant, Mrs. Delacroix had “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” for the ritual(Jackson, 7). This sentence shows how terrible the lottery is and how extreme it can get. Without delay, Tessie is standing in the middle of the crowd when “a stone hit her on the side of the head” and that was the signal to begin the ritual(Jackson, 7). The lottery is just a cruel thing to the victim and their family who have to watch and be a part

    Read More

  • The Influence of Characters in Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery"

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    "The Lottery" is a short story that shows just how disturbing the human mind can be at times. As the story proceeds it builds the reader up till the end where what you thought was going to happen did not turn out that way. But is that not how our lives are portrayed? Do we not build ourselves up to society believing what they say and do until the matter is put into our hands? Mrs. Hutchinson was a follower of society just like we are. Everyday was the same routine and every year she played the lottery just like all of the other town people. But this year would be a very different year for Mrs. Hutchinson because her chance at the lottery was about to happen. Now as a reader in this day, we would think of the lottery to be a great prize to receive but not during the days of these town people.

    Read More

  • The Lottery

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Lottery” was quite disturbing to read. It is an very unusual story that has an ending that will have you baffled. You will want to reread certain parts to see if there is anything thing that you could have missed. The title of the short story is also misleading. In most cases the lottery is a good thing. People don’t win punishment and lotteries don’t hurt them. But in this story it does just that. The author did a great job of telling how anyone and everyone can follow tradition blindly. It is dangerous not to have a mind of your own and to just follow the crowd even if you don’t understand on agree on why something is happening.

    Read More

  • The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    366 Words  | 1 Pages

    The way the characters present themselves in the beginning of the story puts an optimistic view on the lottery. After all, lotteries are generally associated with an increase of wealth and prosperity. The outcome of the scenario seems promising. The town’s people gather with zeal. One character, Mrs. Hutchinson, rushes to make it to the lottery on time. This reassures the reader that the lottery is a must-see event. Another character, Old Man Warner, states that the other towns were crazy for giving up the lottery. With this being said, obviously something good was to come out of the contest. The reader does not suspect the tragedy that lies in the end of the story.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    451 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948. The Lottery is about a village that has their annual Lottery every year. The purpose of The Lottery is to ensure enough rain to have a good corn crop the following June. They believe that if they do not do this, then they will begin to have hard times. The towns Old Man Warner sums this up "Pack of crazy fools, listening to young folks, northing's good enough for them.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Jackson

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Character Analysis

Open Document