A typical story is littered with details, explaining the history of the world the story takes place in, who the characters in the story are, all the while remaining correlated to the plot and subplots that drive the story forward. The story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson however does not follow these conditions, as the reader is left to interpret a majority of the story on their own as it progresses. Jackson is not the only writer to incorporate a style of selective exposition in their work; Raymond Carver is widely recognized for his rejection of explanation and the use of characters that do not always communicate with one another, both of which are elements which Jackson incorporates into her own story. Initially, a lack of exposition may seem detrimental to the story, but instead it plays to the “mysterious nature of story” according to Charles E. May in his essay ‘Do You See What I’m Saying?’: The Inadequacy of Explanation and the uses of Story in the Short Fiction of Raymond Carver. Therefore, by refusing to expound upon setting, characters, and plot allows the author to create mystery, and the reader to form their own interpretations of the story.
Setting is one of the basic elements of any story because it presents the reader with a clear depiction of the world that the story takes place in; usually the more detailed the world of a story is, the easier it is for the reader to become ensconced and understanding of that world. Jackson does not follow this convention in her story, as she provides next to no details about the world The Lottery takes place, the only certain elements being that the story takes place on “The morning of June 27th...” and “[I]n this village there were only about three hundred people...” (235). It’s...
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...ng the reader form new opinions as to what the purpose of the lottery is. By utilizing selective exposition, Jackson demonstrates that mystery is based in what the reader tries to understand about unfamiliar concepts.
Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Book.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Morning of June 28, 1948, and The Lottery.” Literature and Its Writers: A Compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Book.
May, Charles E. “‘Do You See What I’m Saying?’: The Inadequacy of Explanation and the Uses of Story in the Short Fiction of Raymond Carver.” The Yearbook of English Studies. Vol. 31. 2001. 39-49. Essay.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Diversity/Adversity: Introduction to College English:Literature. Vanier College English Department. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Canada, 1984. 252-258. Print.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 643-54. Print.
Jackson, Shirley.. "The Lottery." Trans. Array Literature, An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. . Seventh. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. 250-256. Print.
Ma, Martine. ”Literary Analysis Essay: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. http://martinema.wordPress.com, N.p, 10 Jun 2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner. Boston: New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 242-249. Print.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Gardner, Janet E.; Lawn, Beverly; Ridl, Jack; Schakel, Pepter. 3rd Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 242-249. Print.
actually consists of in this short story. At the onset of the story, Jackson uses the peaceful setting to confuse the reader as to the violent event that occurs. She continues to obscure what is actually going on in each character’s mind by writing in the third person with an objective view. The rising action that develops throughout the story continues to confuse the reader until which point the shocking ending is revealed. The unexpected harsh stoning of the winner in this short story is not what one expects when they begin to read “The Lottery”.
The setting of this story is in a small village during the summer. Not naming the village is a small indication that this could be taken worldwide. Having the story take place in a town like this added to the horrific events. Imagine what goes on in a small town, where everyone knows each other; everyone knows what others are doing at any given moment. Although it seems like Jackson is talking about just the one community or only the people who live there, she is actually assessing many communities and people throughout this story. It almost seems like she is evaluating America as a whole. The Lottery’s physical setting, a mid-summers day, shows a time of
Jackson, Shirley, (2011). 'The Lottery'. In: E. McMahan, S. Day, R. Funk, L. Coleman (ed), Literature and The Writing Process. Backpack ed.: Pearson. pp.133-138.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Perrine's Literature: Structure Sound & Sense. 11th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2010. 282. Print.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the author is able to entertain and enlighten the readers. The interesting and profound topic of the story is partly the reason for drawing the readers in; however, the clever characterization of Tessie and the anonymous setting help to make the story more relatable as well as force the readers to feel sympathy for the characters. Although a story about a town devouring a member of its community is horrifying, there is a large meaning. Jackson effectively uses “The Lottery” to warn the readers of the dangers of the group. 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.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Connections: Literature for Composition. Ed. Miller, Quentin and Nash, Julie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. (225-32)