Stand Up: An Analysis of “The Lottery”
“The Lottery” tells a grim tale of a small town that, once a year, uses a lottery system to select someone to be stoned to death. On the surface, Jackson’s story seems to be a simple horror tale meant to shock the reader with its ending. The truth, however, is that “The Lottery” is a warning, serving to inform the reader about the dangers of conformity.
The story begins on a sunny, summer day. The town is assembling for the lottery. A man by the name of Mr. Summers conducts the lottery by reading off the names of every family in town. When a name is called, the patriarch of that family steps up and pulls a slip of paper from an old black box. After everyone has had a chance to draw their slip, it is revealed that the Hutchinson family has been selected. Tessie Hutchinson is clearly alarmed, and it is at this point that it becomes clear something is very wrong about the situation. The Hutchinson family comes forward and every member draws a new slip of paper. Tessie has the paper with the black dot, meaning she will be the “winner” of the lottery. In a horrible twist, the townspeople then surround her and stone her to death.
Throughout the story, Jackson gives the reader clues
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In 1948, the world had just witnessed one of the worst atrocities in history. It would seem Jackson’s work is an allusion to the crimes of Nazi Germany and the bystanders that allowed those crimes to be committed. Just how Nazi soldiers and prison guards fell victim to group thinking, the people in Jackson’s story found themselves desensitized to a horrible action in their own community. Pressure to conform was a major contributor to the holocaust. (Causes and Motivations) The same could probably be said for the villagers of Jackson’s writing. With the lessons from “The Lottery,” we can hope to avoid such times in the
Bill Hutchinson received the winning ticket and Tessie protest against the lottery. Then everyone in her family redraws and it is Tessie who drew the paper with the black dot on it. Then villagers grab stones, and point them at Tessie. Finally, Tessie says it’s not fair and is hit in the head with a stone. 2.
Toward the finale of the short story, Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” declares, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the black box, they still remembered to use stones” (873). Many of the residents display no knowledge of the lottery and only participate because of tradition. In fact, only Old Man Warner recollects the authentic purpose of the lottery. He furnishes some insight behind the tradition of the lottery by declaring, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 871). Old Man Warner reveals the original reason for holding the lottery, but Jackson clearly demonstrates that the original purpose no longer exists. The villagers comprehend the procedure of stoning the victim but nothing else. Nick Crawford articulates in an easy about “The Lottery,” “The most disturbing thing about Tessie Hutchinson’s unexpected demise is its...
Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.
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.
A gathering of neighbors on a bright sunny day may seem like a fun, summer picnic; however, Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” proves this setting to be something more malevolent. Jackson builds suspense in the short story by withholding any explanations and does not reveal the true tradition of the lottery until the first stone hits Tessie’s head. She disguises small but certain indicators that something more ominous will happen in the story. It is only after the fact readers understand them as clues of doom. By excluding information until the last possible moment, she builds suspense and creates a shocking, powerful conclusion.
In “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, tone and symbolism are equally important elements in comprehending this eerie short story. This dark tale takes place in a small town of about 300 people during the summer. The writer begins by painting a picture of children playing, women gossiping, and men making small-talk of home and finances, putting the reader at ease with a tone of normality. The people of the town coalesce before the lottery conductor, named Mr. Summers, appears to begin the annual town ritual of drawing from a box which will result in the killing of one townsperson by stone throwing. It isn’t until the fateful conclusion when the reader comes to realize there is nothing normal about the
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.”
Did you know that Merle and Patricia Butler from Red Bud, Illinois and three teachers from Baltimore Maryland won the biggest lottery in American history at $656 million dollars? That means every person acquired $218.6 million dollars each from the lottery (Carlyle). Unfortunately, the citizens of Shirley Jacksons’ fantasy short story “The Lottery” were not imbursed with money, but were stoned to death by their peers. “The Lottery” is a lottery of death in which the town uses to keep the population down (Voth). The story consist of many subjects to analyze which include: irony, imagery, and pathos.
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.
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.
Written by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” is a short story about a town that hosts an annual lottery that decides which person is stoned by the rest of the town. Jackson slowly and subtly builds the suspense throughout the story, only resolving the mystery surrounding the lottery at the very last moment, as the townspeople surround Tessie with their stones. The symbolism utilized helps demonstrate the overall significance of the story, such as the lottery itself. The lottery shows the way people desperately cling to old traditions, regardless of how damaging they may be. In addition, it can show how callous many will act while staring at a gruesome situation, until they become the victims.
In “The Lottery”, Jackson wrote about a special tradition of a small village. June 27th was warm and sunny, and it gave the impression like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone knows the lottery as an exciting thing, and everybody wants to win, but this lottery is unlike any other. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning of an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. Though the horrific ending was not expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was not an average lottery. Jackson foreshadowed the death of Tessie Hutchinson with stones, the black box, and the three legged stool; she showed that unquestioning support of tradition can be fatal.
The lottery is a ritual that has been around for years and years and it has developed into a way of life for the people of the town. When June comes rolling along everyone is anticipating the lottery. Kids fill their pockets full of rocks and plans are discussed about making a new box. They can not wait to attend and finally get it over with. This drawing seems to transform the people. Tension builds before the lottery occurs, but the townspeople are still able to joke with one another. Tension increases in the story when the author, Shirley Jackson, implies to the reader that Mr. Hutchinson has drawn the marked paper. We assume he does because he walks up on to the stage with his family and they are then made to draw again from the worn out black box. Mr. Hutchinson reaches his hand in and grabs out a piece with his children and his wife following in succession. The one that holds the winning ticket is Mrs. Hutchinson.
The village has its own unique lottery. The winner of the game will receive a card with a black dot. This means the surrounding villager will stone them to death! Shirley Jackson develops her theme of the danger of blindly following tradition in her short story, "The Lottery" through the use of symbolism, mood, and irony. The black dot represents the winner of the lottery.
Shirley Jackson describes the characters in “The Lottery” in a way that readers can relate to each of them in some way, yet she makes one character stand out from the start of the story. Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson arrives late, having “clean forgot what day it was” (411). While the town does not make a fuss over Tessie’s tardiness, several people make remarks, “in voices loud enough to be heard across the crowd” (411). Jackson makes the choice to have Tessie stand out from the crowd initially. This choice first shows Tessie’s motivation. Tessie was so