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Literary elements in the lottery
Literary elements in the lottery
The lottery symbolism
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“THE LOTTERY” ANALYSIS Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story about a village stuck in a loop of undying tradition. Jackson uses language and literary devices to portray society as comfortably ignorant. The portrayal of comfortable ignorance first happens by Jackson’s use of flowery language that distracts readers from the grim symbolism and the foreshadowing of the story's ending. Flowery language such as, “flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” sets a wholesome scene in which danger seems nonexistent (Jackson). Though, this short story is laced with foreshadowing--hinting at the story’s ghastly ending; for example, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon …show more content…
“The Lottery,” possess many important symbols to support the theme, “The Lottery’s” paraphernalia being one. The first article of “The Lottery’s” paraphernalia is the “black box,” the “black box” is used for drawing the “slips of paper” that marks one participant for death by stoning--though the “black box” was not the “original paraphernalia” used in play during “the lottery,” it has come to serve the purpose; this box of death represents tradition and appealing to its lost ways, as depicted here, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one like to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.” This quote not only shows that the “black box is a symbol of tradition, but it also indicates that the villagers are reluctant to change tradition--even if the change was replacing a ”black box” that serves as a replacement to the long-lost original. The villagers are stuck in the chasm of comfortable ignorance; they sulk in the ignorance of traditional ways and find comfort in the monotony of them. Another example of this is random persecution, symbolized by the “slips of paper”--the “slips are paper” are used as the indicator of victimization; every villager in “The Lottery” must draw a “slip of paper” and the one villager who draws a slip with a “black spot” on it is punished by death. Random persecution helps to underline the idea that the village in the lottery is comfortably ignorant; villagers are comfortable in the fact that they did not pull the “black spotted” slip and they are ignorant in their will to put a random individual to death for no reason--when no one needs to be
When most people play the lottery today, they think about having wealth. Generally, people who win are happy about it whether they win one dollar or a million. The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the “winner” was the member of the town who was not sacrificed? This question is answered in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” In reading this story, and reading literary criticism about the story, there were many symbols and much symbolism in this story.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
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.
Theme is the central message that an author is trying to make. A story’s theme can differ based on different types of literature. For example, Commercial Fiction will appeal to a wide range of readers, and it will be easy to pick up on. However, Literary Fiction provides a theme that deals with issues that could change society. “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, is a piece of forcible Literary Fiction. Her short story deals with a fear that many Americans often face, the fear of breaking tradition. Jackson provides her readers with the reoccurring theme of fear that comes from breaking tradition; this fear brings blindness to logical thinking and
In the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the author uses literary technique to create meaning. The story is set in a fictional society where people are entered into a village lottery and the chosen victims get murdered by stone throwing. The blindness in this society allows the tradition to continue, as everyone is afraid to challenge the law. Throughout the story, Jackson uses literary techniques like symbolism and foreshadowing to convey the theme. She also uses irony and other methods to depthen the meaning of the story. Shirley Jackson used literary technique to create meaning by using foreshadowing to hint at violence that occurs later in the story and symbolism to develop significance in the passage.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Wife’s Story by Ursula Le Guin incorporate a variety of literary techniques to develop the themes and to impact on the audience in an effective way. Characterisation is utilised to create deception through the quick changing actions and motives of the characters. The authors employ the literary technique of setting to create symbolism through everyday items and subjects. In both stories, tradition is highlighted through the use of foreshadowing. In both short stories, the authors
The characterization plot, setting, atmosphere and style contribute to the story by the description of the black box and how everyone in the village cleared a wide path when it was brought to the center of town. One of the most highly developed elements in the story is how the people gather and talked as if it was a social event. The least developed element in this story is the reason they have held “The Lottery” year after year is unknown and in the story no plot develops to understand the reasoning behind which day and the stoning.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is an amazing fiction short story. This story is highly focused on symbolism, imagery, and allegory. These three literary devices are what make this story as successful as it is and what keeps readers interested throughout the story. In fact, this story relies heavily on these three elements
The lottery consists of a black box full of blanks pieces of paper and one marked piece of paper. The person who draws the marked piece of paper is the one who endures the horrible fate of being stoned. This black box is very significant because it an s symbol of tradition. Just like tradition, it has been used for many years. Because it symbol in this story is the black box, which is used in the lottery process. . The box is a symbol of tradition and just like tradition; it has been used for many years. “ There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village.” It is old and needs to be replaced with a new one but none ...
The Lottery questions whether or not tradition should be respected for what it is or evolve to suit new generations. When asked the purpose of writing the Lottery, Shirley Jackson responded that the story was “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (237) Jackson was idealistic as writer who shaped a thought infuriating and shocking story to person who likes to read at a time when tradition was still practiced and recognized a lot in our society.
Shirley Jacksons, in her story “The Lottery” talks about how in this small village of three hundred people on June 27th, a lottery takes place. This lottery played by this village is a really different type of lottery that people play in the current year. Usually when people hear lottery they think of money, prizes, and good things coming their way. The last thing they expect is for it to be something that will kill you at the end if you ended up being the winner of it. Shirley Jackson used contrast, dialogue, and symbolism in order to show how important tradition is to the people in this small village and how they follow it blindly without questioning it.
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.
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" symbols are used to enhance and stress the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can be exhibited in people in situations regarding tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just for the sake of keeping a routine. Three of the main symbols that Shirley uses in the story is the setting, black box, and the actual characters names. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the basis of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the culture of the village, and the culture of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage to not only a community, but the entire world. Symbolism plays a large role in "The Lottery" to set the theme of the story and make the reader question traditions.