Shirley Jackson was extremely particular with the names she chose for the characters in her short story “The Lottery.” Several objectives were accomplished by her careful selection of names. The use of names such as Summers and Graves indicate the setting of the story, as well as give early incite to the outcome. Evidence of anti-feminism originates early in the text of the story, but anti-feminism is not only found in the text. The only females that are allowed to have first names are Tessie Hutchinson, who does not conform to the woman’s role in the community, and Janey Dunbar, which is taking on a male’s role in the lottery. Tessie’s daughters are given first names in her desperate attempt to increase her odds for survival. It is not just the characters themselves who give significance to the story, but their names also provide much assistance to the makings of this story.
Joe Summers being the official of the lottery is the key player for organizing and carrying out the traditions of the lottery. The name that Jackson gave to the official assists in bringing clarity to the time of year in which the lottery takes place. Jay Yarmove suggests that Mr. Summer’s attire of “clean white shirt and blue jeans” was used by Jackson to signify that the era was set in the twentieth century (242). Summers’ character was also used to bring to light the sexism felt towards women in the community with his comments to Mrs. Dunbar, “Wife draws for her husband… don’t you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?” (Arp and Johnson 281).
Jackson places multiple hidden messages throughout her story. One in particular is the name of the quiet assistant to the official Mr. Summers: Harry Graves. Graves is another prominent male figure in t...
... middle of paper ...
...e of a female in this village. Other names are used to assist with setting the season, and to forewarn of Tessie Hutchinson’s fate. The brilliance in Jackson’s selectiveness in who is given a first name, and how it is used to bring attention to how this is a man’s society, adds to the other sexist innuendos. The names Jackson assigns her characters are just as important to the message in this story as the characters themselves.
Works Cited
Arp, Thomas R., Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Cervo, Nathan. "Jackson's The Lottery." Explicator. Vol. 50. Taylor & Francis, 1992. 183. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Yarmove, Jay A. "Jackson's The Lottery." Explicator. Vol. 52. Taylor & Francis, 1994. 242. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 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.
Abcarian, Richard, and Marvin Klotz. "The Lottery." Literature: the Human Experience. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2006. 350-56. Print.
Mr. Summer states, “Now I’ll read the names- heads of families first- and the men come up and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has a turn. Everything clear (568)?” Given that today’s lottery winners receive money, a reader might assume winning in this short story would be a good thing. The men held the slips over papers nervously in their hands. After a long, breathless pause, Mr. Summers says, “All right, fellows (568).” The head of the family opens the slip of paper and the terrible fate awaits the winner. The winner was the Hutchinson family. Tessie Hutchinson instantly states, “I think we ought to start over… I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him enough time to choose. Everybody saw that (571).” The reader may still not understand what the prize is or may be confused on why each family member now needs to draw a slip of paper from the old black
Michelson, D. The historical reception of Shirley Jackson's "the lottery". In: KURZBAN, Robert; PLATEK, Steve. 18th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. 2006.
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.
Mr. Summers ran the lottery because he does things for the village. A black box is brought out in front of everyone. Mr. Summers mixes up the slips of paper in the box. Then he calls everyone’s name in town. After he finishes calling names, everyone in town opens their papers.
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...
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
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
The Lottery was Shirley Jackson 's most recognized short story. Her story was written with a very bold plot. “ Shirley Jackson wrote of the essentially evil nature of human beings. "The Lottery," tells of a ritual in a typical New England town in which local residents choose one among their number to be sacrificed” this ritual supposedly helps the growth of their crops, and brings fertility to the people(Wanger-Martin). Though there is no actual evidence of ritual making a difference in prosperity. Later on it is even mentioned other villages have dropped the violent tradition. In the Lottery Jackson used a multitude of themes, and symbolism in hopes of leaving a lasting message for the readers. More themes than the ritual become prominent in the novel. For instance many critics agree that the lottery is a tale “which addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the subjugation of women, the dangers of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the tyranny of the status quo”(Wilson, 139-146). All of these are strategically interwoven in the story. Jackson uses a variety of different themes to teach a lesson about man in The
Shirley Jackson was a criticized female writer that wrote about US’s scramble for conformity and finding comfort in the past or old traditions. When Jackson published this specific short story, she got very negative feedback and even death threats. In the fictionial short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, a drawing takes place during the summer annually in a small town in New England. In this particular work, the lottery has been a tradition for over seventy years and has been celebrated by the townspeople every year. In detail, Richard H. Williams explains in his “A Critique of the Sampling Plan Used in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery””, he explains the process of how the lottery works. “The sampling plan consists of two
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner. Boston: New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 242-249. Print.
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.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Perrine's Literature: Structure Sound & Sense. 11th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2010. 282. Print.