Tradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. As the story begins, the villagers appear to be fairly civilized and carry on fairly modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the men's discussion of planting, rain, tractors, and taxes. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some may think that the tradition is primal competition of anthropoid beasts. On the other hand, some think that carrying on the tradition was necessary. The question that must be answered is: Was this a barbaric tradition or was this ritual an honest attempt to better other villager's lives?
Shortly after the publication of "The Lottery" in The New Yorker, "a flood of mail - hundreds of letters-deluged both the editorial offices in New York and the post office in Bennington" (Friedman 63). Miss Jackson said that out of all the letters sent, there were only thirteen that were positive responses, and those were from her friends (63). The letters consisted of "bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse" (63). It is obvious that the initial reaction from the public was extremely negative. The readers perceived the story as a satire on them, as if they practiced barbaric ways.
Indeed there are countless references, hints, and blatant comments that refer to the barbaric theme in this story. The fact that the lottery itself is scheduled for 10:00 and it took only two hours, conveniently timed so that the villagers could get back home to eat lunch, shows that there is no concern for the "winner" of the lottery, only for themselves. The children collect stones, competing against the other children, and keeping friends from stealing from their ...
... middle of paper ...
...Although we are a modernized society, there are those primal animal-like instincts that still lurk inside every one of us. After exploring the barbaric theme in "The Lottery," it is evident that Shirley Jackson did intend to portray barbaric aspects of stoning people in order to have an abundant crop outcome to show to the reader that these barbaric actions happen today.
Works Cited
Coulthard, A. R. "Jackson's 'The Lottery' " The Explicator 48: 226-228.
Friedman, Lenemaja. Shirley Jackson. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1975.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Modern Short Stories. Ed. Robert B. Heilman. Westport: Greenwood, 1971. 375-85.
Magill, Frank N. "Shirley Jackson." Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Salem Press, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 1981. 1668-1674.
Nebeker, Helen C. 'The Lottery': Symbolic Tour de Force." American Literature 46 March 1974.
Hicks, Jennifer. "Overview of 'The Lottery'." Short Stories for Students. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Literature Resource Center. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
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.
Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery” satirically creates a society that puts the importance of tradition above even the life of the members of the community, as indicated by Old Man Warner’s response to Mr. Adams stating, “‘[O]ver in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.’ Old Man Warner snorted. ‘Pack of crazy fools … Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them … There’s always been a lottery,’ he added petulantly” (413). Here Old Man Warner defends the tradition of their society, though notably without justifying the tradition. Rather, he focuses on the people of other villages and the tradition as self-evident, both logical fallacies. The first argument he makes in favor of continuing to have a lottery is an ad
The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
Edgar Degas was born July 19th, 1834 in Paris, France. Born into wealth, Degas became well educated throughout his youth. He studied Law at the University of Paris, due to his father’s desire for him to achieve financial security on his own. However, his love for art was ever-present, even at a young age. He turned his bedroom into his own personal studio by age 18. During his time at the University of Paris, Degas met well-renowned artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, who encouraged him to pursue his talent. Shortly after, Degas was accepted to the premiere Ecole des Beaux-arts ('School of Fine Arts'). Post attendance, Degas traveled to Italy for three years to continue his artistic studies. Degas life was nowhere near perfect, when he was 13 years old, his mother passed away. This caused him tremendous heartache, due to the fact that his mother was a lover of the arts; she was an opera singer and often gave recitals in their home (“Edgar Degas”). She inspired and encouraged his artistic ways.
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.”
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.
From 1904-1906 Picasso used “rosey” colors to convey his work. During this period, he meets his one-day model, Fernande Olivier. She would eventually become his mistress and thus encouraging the start of The Rose Period. He focused his work on harlequins, circus’s, and street performers. More often then not he showed them, not doing acts but on the side alone. (Fox). The majority of colors used were of pinks and oranges. This is the start of his use of primitivism in work. Primitivism is an expression of unsophistication,
Every year, the lottery is held, and every year a person is killed. Each villager neglects to acknowledge the unjustness of the lottery and continue to participate because of the tradition it represents in their society. The lottery was a cultural tradition passed down from the very first settlers of the village. It makes up a huge part of the village’s history and culture. The villagers pay recognition to their culture by continuing the tradition of the lottery even though the lottery is not morally right. On page 93 it states, “There was a proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year… There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came to draw from the box…” This quote shows the tribal-like rituals and traditions associated with the lottery. Through the years, some of the rituals of the lottery were lost, but the main elements of the lottery remained the same. The idea behind the lottery was that the ancestors, of the villagers, believed that human sacrifice would bring in good harvest. This led to the development and continuation
Cubism was a movement that started in 1908 and ended roughly by the end of the 1920’s and is often synonymous with the works of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, two of the most influential and important of the cubist painters, each coming up with their own first cubist painting near 1908. They tended toward the structural and architectural form of Cubism that was hinted at by post-impressionist Paul Cézanne, whose death would provoke an exhibition of work for future cubists and other modern painters to admire and learn from. On the other hand, near 1912-14, cubism took a different turn with the help of Picasso’s papier collé, (Golding 120, Green Synthesis 88, Gopnik 81). The collages produced by papier collé managed to change analytical cubism,
Pablo Statue maker, one of the most recognized public figure of the twentieth century artwork who co-created such tool as Cubism and Surrealism, was also among most innovative, influential, and prolific creative person of all shape. He was Born Pablo Ruiz Picasso on October digit, 1881, in Malaga, Spain. He was the first child of Jose Ruiz y Blasco and Maria Picasso y Lopez. His father was an artist and academic of art at the Swim of Fine Arts, and also a curator of museum in Malaga, Spain. Picasso began studying art under his father's tutelage, continued at the Establishment of Arts in National capital for a class, and went on his cunning explorations of the new horizons. He went to Capital of Franc...
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...
Pablo Picasso had many hardships. All his life, he was a self-centered man who made fun of other people. The countless wives and mistresses he left him because they were unhappy. His dedication to art was too much for the people who had loved him. During his lifetime many people had passed away. Two of his good friends, mother, wife, and sister had all died. But many of those tragic events allowed him to create some of the most astounding artworks in history. Through the misfortunes in Picasso’s life, he was able to rise above and become one of the most significant artists of the 20th
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948. The story takes place in a village square of a town on June 27th. The author does not use much emotion in the writing to show how the barbaric act that is going on is look at as normal. This story is about a town that has a lottery once a year to choose who should be sacrificed, so that the town will have a plentiful year for growing crops. Jackson has many messages about human nature in this short story. The most important message she conveys is how cruel and violent people can be to one another. Another very significant message she conveys is how custom and tradition can hold great power over people. Jackson also conveys the message of how men treat women as objects.