This is one kind of lottery you wouldn't want to win. “The Lottery” is set in a small farm town in the summer, which is peaceful and the season for growing, but also it is the season for death. In this story Shirley Jackson is a master at creating irony through the setting, her choice of names for the characters, and the situations which the characters have to face.
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
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case its the beginning of death (Griffin par. 1). The town square is meant for town meetings and a place to have joyous parties, but it is also a place of sacrifice, which in their minds is just another normal day. The date of the lottery is right between June 21, Summer solstice, and July 4th, American Independence Day (Yarmove par. 2). The Summer solstice is considered the day of pagan tradition where an animal is sacrificed, but in the story a human is sacrificed in its place. American Independence Day, on the other hand, is a day of freedom and justice, which in the story is a chance for everyone to freely enter in the drawing. June 27th is the perfect day to combine both of these important dates to create irony through the setting (Yarmove par. 3). Yarmove says, “A microcosmal holocaust occurs in this story and, by extension, may happen anyplace in contemporary America” (par. 1). Not only does Shirley Jackson create irony through setting, she also creates irony by giving each character a certain name which has significant meaning to “The Lottery” itself. Old Man Warner is the oldest, yet wisest of everyone in the town and gives the younger generation something to fear (Yarmove par. 5). He has been around long enough to have been a part of seventy-seven deaths and is the only one to believe in the purpose of sacrifice. He warns them when he says: “Pack of young fools. Listening to young folks, nothing good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery.” (Jackson 240, par. 4) He does not want the ritual to end and further warns that the lottery affects the results of the crops: “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” he says (Coulthard par.
3). Mr. Graves, the most powerful person in town, has a name which portrays death. His name almost seems as if it is forewarning what will happen to Tessie (Yarmove par. 5). The name of Mrs. Delacroix is one of the most significant names in all of the characters. In French, “Delacroix“ means “of the Cross.” In the story farm people refer to the family as Dellacroy, meaning to prevail. Mrs. Delacroix, supposedly Tessie’s best friend, ends up picking out the largest stone, which takes both hands to carry in the assisting of Tessie’s death (Griffin par. 4, Coulthard par. 2). Her name refers to Tessie’s crucifixion (Cervo). In the story, Shirley Jackson creates irony through situations in which life and death are chosen. The black box, for instance, is the one thing that chooses who will die and who will live. The black box is seen as faded with splinters and is given a place of honor only on days of the lottery. The villagers had long forgotten the ritual and lost the original box, but they remembered to use stones (Coulthard par. 5). After every lottery the box quickly gets forgotten and the color further deteriorates. The color of the box itself is ironic in a way that black is a symbol of evil or dark sin, which in the story’s case is exactly what is being performed. The fading of the box represents the
fading of their ritual, which keeps life balanced. Another ironic situation is that Mrs. Hutchinson almost missed the lottery drawing, but made it just in time; sadly she was the first one to leave. One major ironic point in the story is when Mrs. Delacroix told Bill that Tessie made it after all, but in reality she didn't make it. Even with her daughter and husband entering into the drawing to lessen her chance of being picked, she ended up being unlucky either way. Clearly, Mrs. Hutchinson is in support of the lottery and even encourages her husband to step up and take his slip of paper, but when her family name is chosen, she is ironically no longer in favor of the procedure and insists “You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair” (Jackson 241 par. 1). The true irony in “The Lottery” is that the winner is actually the loser. Whoever gets chosen for the lottery ultimately dies, but the chilling irony is it could be anyone in anyplace. Through irony Jackson has given warning that any society who follows customs in blind obedience is subject to the same fate. Shirley Jackson mastered irony in “The Lottery” by creating the perfect setting, choosing specific names for each character, and making situations which the characters have to face. If you think about it, “The Lottery” could come to a town just like yours and you wouldn’t know if you would live or die. The possibilities are endless.
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.
"The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice. The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens. On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate. Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice. Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about. Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective use of foreshadowing through the depiction of characters and setting. Effective foreshadowing builds anticipation for the climax and ultimately the main theme of the story - the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and cruelty.
for summer break, letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer.
To a first time reader, Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” seems simply as a curious tale with a shocking ending. After repetitive reading of Jackson's tale, it is clear that each sentence is written with a unique purpose often using symbolism. Her use of symbols not only foreshadow its surprise and disturbing ending but allows the reader to evaluate the community's pervert traditional rituals. She may be commenting on the season of the year and the grass being “richly green” or the toying with the meanings of the character's names but each statement applies to the meaning and lesson behind her story.
Dramatic irony is one type of irony that is shown throughout this short-story.”The third caught on the edge and fell outside onto the ground at Miss Strangeworth's feet” (Jackson 254). This quote shows dramatic irony because the readers knew the letter fell onto the ground, but Miss Strangeworth did not. Also, foreshadowing is evident when the author continuously mentioned the roses. “Miss Strangeworth never gave away any of her roses, although the tourists often asked her” (250). This foreshadows how much Miss Strangeworth love and cherish her roses and would never let anything happen to them. Another way foreshadowing was shown was how the author discuss everyone in the town. “Many people seemed disturbed recently, Miss Strangeworth thought” (251). This explains something is bothering everyone in the town except Miss Strangeworth. Irony was shown throughout the story “The Possibility of Evil,” but also in “The Skating
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.
“In a simple allegory, characters and other elements often stand for other definite meanings, which are often abstractions” (Kennedy 234). Since everyone in the town is involved in the stoning, they do not view their sacrifice as murder, but as something needed to be done. “‘All right, folks,’ Mr. Summers said, ‘Let’s finish this quickly.’” (Jackson 259). The young boys in the town are excited about the lottery, but the girls stand off to the side because it is in a boy’s nature to be brutal, yet the women of the town seem just as excited as the boys, and the men calm down as the girls. “The boys’ eager and childish cruelty will turn into the sober reluctance of their fathers, whereas the childish apartness of the girls will become the grown women’s blood lust” (Whittier 357). Most people associate winning a lottery as coming into a large sum of money; but on the contrary, the winner of this lottery must pay with their ultimate sacrifice. “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (257). Jackson’s use of allegories is sublime, drawing her readers to the central
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
What if we lived in a world where a small piece of paper was considered the Angel of Death? Where your neighbors would turn on you in an instance because a small black box “prophesized” them to? When true human nature is shown before you are cast into the blackness of death? Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story in which villagers gather once a year with a black box to perform a lottery that decides just that. The head male of each family must draw till someone has the black dot that decides which family will draw next. The “winner” in that family is then stoned to death by everyone in the village, including their own family. The story has multiple hidden messages that are hard to distinguish from the text. Each message shows a side of human nature that most people believe they do not have. By using literary analysis, Shirley Jackson’s messages become
The title of the story is “The Lottery” and the title is very ironic. When looking at the title readers may think there is a character who is about to become rich and have a better lifestyle. There is a lot more that is happening than what the title expects you to think. Another example of irony is the setting of the story. “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. With such a beautiful and nice day going along with nice weather you would not think that death would end up occurring. At the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen for the lottery, it is ironic that it does not upset her that she was chosen. Tessie was really upset because of the way she is chosen she shows this by saying “It isn’t fair it isn’t right”. (5) Jackson use of irony gives the readers reason to think and expect the
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.
What thoughts come to mind when you think of "The Lottery?" Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, "The Lottery." Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition that is cruel and inhumane, yet upheld in this town. Shirley Jackson provides the reader’s with a graphic description of violence, cruelty, and inhumane treatment which leads to the unexpected meaning of "The Lottery." Born in San Francisco, Jackson began writing early in her life. She won a poetry prize at age twelve and continued writing through high school. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. After marriage to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a notable literary critic, she continued to write. Her first national publication “My Life with R.H. Macy” was published in The New Republic in 1941but her best-known work is “The Lottery.”(Lit Links or Reagan). Jackson uses characterization and symbolism to portray a story with rising action that surprises the reader with the unexpected odd ritual in the village. While one would expect “The Lottery” to be a positive event, the reader’s are surprised with a ritual that has been around for seventy-seven years , demonstrating how unwilling people are to make changes in their everyday life despite the unjust and cruel treatment that is associated with this tradi...
“Summers” (Jackson, 4) is the sir name of the conductor of the Lottery. The lottery happens during summer, and Mr. Summer’s assistant is “Mr. Graves” (Jackson. 4). This hints that there will be a “Grave” during “summer”. The author uses names to augur the winner’s prize: a violent stoning from the townspeople.
The author used several clues throughout the story that hinted toward the outcome. One clue was that the boys of the town collected and saved the smoothest and roundest stones. Another clue was the hesitation of the men to help hold the black box. Later in the story, Tessie Hutchinson pleads for another chance because she feels that her husband was rushed.
Summers said. “Let’s finish quickly” (262). In the third place, the use of violence towards the end is breathless. The villagers are going to stoned Tessie to death and even her family has to cooperate in killing her. The theme of this short story is that following a tradition can be dangerous. They worried so much on following this tradition that did not even notice the damage that they were creating into their own society. Their loyalty onto this sacrifice has blind each of them to see the reality they are living in. They are just following this tradition because they just got used to it not because they understand it. No one felt sorry for Tessie because she would probably do the same thing if another person would be unlucky winner of the