In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” irony is an underlying theme used throughout the story. Shirley Jackson involves residents in a preparation of following a longstanding traditional process of lottery. However, this proves to be a different type of lottery as the winner gets a different form of present. This is unknown to the reader of the story until when the story is almost over. Residents gather at 10 in the morning in the square that is located between the bank and the post office awaiting the arrival of Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves who conducts the lottery. These residents are very determined to carry out the lottery despite the fact that the reasons for the lottery tradition are fading away and thus loosing their importance and significance. Shirley in the beginning of the story creates a peaceful mood of representative town on a normal day in atypical town. This setting act as a good foreshadow of the ironic ending. Irony is a primary theme that is applied in the lottery story by Shirley Jackson.
The first element of irony is present in the first paragraph in the introduction; the setting is introduced as a “clear and sunny day” whereas the day ends with the death of a housewife which is a brutal stoning. The whole concept of a lottery in a layman’s language entails the winning of either cash or prizes, as a result, the reader is forced to be in a situation whereby he/she expects that at the end of the day a resident took a prize home but in the reality, they will be stoned to death by the rest of the residents. It’s very ironic that despite the consideration of the serious outcomes of the lottery, the residents do not make a big issue about it. In addition, most of the traditions the lottery such as the recitals and th...
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...hey are aware of the fact that their mother is about to be executed.
In conclusion, Shirley Jackson creates the mood for a typical town via the setting of the story. By applying the fine details she is able to foreshadow the ironic ending by using the setting of the story. For instance, she set the story in a normal summer day in a typical town. Second, she describes the children and the entire town in a normal way. Third, there is no presence of religion or authorities in the story. These aspects are supposed to aid the reader about the oddness of the setting. The ending is an ironic one from the start in that every resident in this town commits an unlawful act by stoning an innocent human being.
Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Ed. Laurence
Perrine. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 2004. 40-47.
“The Lottery” is a satire that is meant to shock and provoke readers with the prospect that societal contentment and tradition can evoke the emersion of illogical and harmful actions. The author, Shirley Jackson, understands that the proper use of symbolism and character archetypes is followed by a more impactful story. “The Lottery” opens with children who are out of school for summer break “[on a clear and sunny… day.” (Jackson, 1948, p. 221). Such an innocuous, familiar scene, might elicit from the reader nostalgic, whimsical memories of childhood play. Appropriately, the children in this story represent the innocent, susceptible future generation of the town. They do not seem to fully fathom the severity of the lottery or the abhorrent nature of the violence associated with the town’s traditions. For this reason, the reader most likely develops an expectation that this story will be a pleasant and optimistic one that takes place on a beautiful sunny day and involves the laughter and tomfoolery of young happy kids.
In literature there are many different critical views, in which all of them have very distinctive ideas and beliefs. The value of these critical views is decided by the reader and may be different to each one. When a reader approaches a work of literature they bring their own views and experiences with them, so each reader will read each story differently. And even the same reader will never read the same story the same way twice due to things that may have changed in his or her life. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (509-15) and Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” (568-74) one reader my feel sympathy while another does not fill anything. So what is the “correct” response to these stories?
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.
Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
Two great works known for irony, in one a great author, Albert Camus, creates a masterpiece and in the other, a masterpiece creates a great author, Shirley Jackson. Camus had been known to the world and his works had been studied even without the presence of “l’hote” or known as The Guest, but Shirley Jackson was a nobody till she wrote The Lottery and stunned the world.
Shirley Jackson takes great care in creating a setting for the story, The Lottery. She gives the reader a sense of comfort and stability from the very beginning. It begins, "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The setting throughout The Lottery creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquility, while portraying a typical town on a normal summer day.
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.
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.”
Throughout the story, Jackson shows, with the use of symbolism and foreshadowing, that blindly following a tradition can have horrific consequences. All the objects connect with the ending. Since the villagers unquestionably accepted the tradition, they have allowed murder to become embedded in their town.
Winning vast amounts of money can make anyone slaphappy, but unfortunately this type of wager won’t be discussed in Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery.” Jackson catches the reader’s attention by describing a typical day by using words such as “blossoming, clear and sunny skies” to attract the reader into believing a calm and hopeful setting which eventually turns dark. In this short story Jackson tells a tale of a sinister and malevolent town in America that conforms to the treacherous acts of murder in order to keep their annual harvest tradition alive. Jackson exposes the monstrosity of people within this society in this chilling tale. She allows the reader’s to ponder and lead them to believe that the lottery is actually a good thing; till she implements foreshadowing, to hint at the dreadfulness behind the lottery and its meaning. My goal in this paper is to discuss why Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a portrayed as a horror story, and the importance the townspeople used to glorify ritualistic killings, to appease to an unseeable force in return of good harvest for the upcoming year.
In conclusion, the use of symbolism, irony and setting in the Lottery is very evident, the author indirectly implicates the true darkness within the human heart. The Lottery remains relevant in society today because the overall vagueness of the city allows this story to be true to all people around the world. The short story shows us that humans are evil enough to follow traditions blindly, even if they cause pain and death in loved ones we know. Jackson also centers a lot of symbols and irony on religion and how they affect our culture and decisions. In this the reader can learn that sometimes it’s better for a person to follow his moral compass, and not just blindly follow his evil heart, and the evilness of others.
"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.
Author Shirley Jackson uses irony as an ongoing theme to trick us unexpectedly, only creating a bigger confusion to what’s actually happening. Jackson short story is truly stunning in the sense of uniqueness; she is able to show us this shift in paradigm. The Lottery is about a village that does an annual lotto during the first day of summer, expect the winner is killed not given a huge cash prize as expected.
The story of “The Lottery” is a dark tale that gives the reader a window into a community blighted by an tradition propagated by ignorance; sending a message that reverberates with many events, ideas, and observations throughout the annals of time. Written by the great Shirley Jackson, this fable exemplifies how delusion and illogical thinking led to the terrifying and morose ending of Tessie Hutchinson's existence. Shirley Jackson was well known in her lifetime, but not necessarily as the literary master she is hailed as today. Jackson had great interest in the culture of witchcraft, and deeply incorporated this knowledge into one of her first short stories: “The Lottery.” While this influence greatly improved the haunted tone of the story, it also spawned various rumors regarding Shirley Jackson herself, being a reclusive bookish woman interested in the dark arts. However, just as the “witches” of Salem were mercilessly murdered for ambiguous reasons, so too was Tessie Hutchinson. Shirley Jackson saw the reflection of these poor souls within our very lives, and channeled their sorrowful essence into a meticulous story that is as moving as it is disturbing.
In the story, Shirley Jackson creates irony through the setting. A small town, on a warm summer day, with about 300 people makes this the perfect place to set a story (Yarmove par. 4). The land is abundant with stones and is made alive with farmers growing their crops. Summer is a season associated with growing and cheerfulness in which the circle of life starts over, but in this