The short stories, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson both feature a dark ending which makes the story stand out. The two stories both end up with the protagonist in a tight spot, which makes for a good ending but what makes “The Lottery” stand out is how the author shifts the direction on the story to get to the ending is what made the story stand out. While in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the reader can pick up on the plot of the story and make a prediction as to the fate of the protagonist. Which build keeps the reader on their toes, while “The Lottery” throws the reader’s feet out from under them. The unexpected twist in “The Lottery” led me to like the story …show more content…
more than “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” due to how I could predict the ending from the very beginning of the story. The two stories are similar in some areas as well as they are different, the differences are the key factors which make “The Lottery” stand out. The two stories do share key qualities, such as how both stories lead the reader to believe that the protagonist fate is lethally sealed form the details both authors give. Both stories include the element of the unknown, where the author leaves the reader questioning what is going on in the story, like in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the reader questioned the true identity of Arnold Friend due to how “She watched this smile come, awkward as if he were smiling from inside a mask. His whole face was a mask, she thought wildly, tanned down to his throat but then running out as if he had plastered makeup on his face but had forgotten about his throat”(Oates, 479). The image of the man’s face made me suspicious as to the true identity of the stranger. Arnolds creepy description add to the dark tone of the story with just his presence, his actions and words are the icing on the cake. The unexpected element in “The Lottery” come from how Jackson does not give away the type of lottery which takes place in the story. Jackson baits the reader into believing the lottery is a normal lottery by her language in the beginning of the novel. She makes the lottery seem a positive event, “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. Who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.”(Jackson 262). Thus the lottery seems to be just a run of the mill, normal lottery, not a life or death situation. Jackson sets the reader up for a false sense of what the lottery is all about thus increases the effect of her ending to the novel once the award for the lottery is revealed. The difference between the two stories comes from how the authors drop the bomb that is the inferred fate of the protagonist.
Jackson does not reveal the woman's fate until the end of her story, while in Oates’s story, I Knew from the beginning that the young girl’s situation was not going to end pretty. As Michael Timko of News world Communications would say, “While the author declined to tell what she meant, she does provide the careful reader with some clues. The full impact of the story depends on absorbing the various literary nuances of the story, especially tone, irony, and theme” (Timko). He proves that Jackson gives a few hints but the ending is still in the air until Jackson finally reveals her fate in the end of the story. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” the fate of Connie is clear, As Laura Kalpakian of The Southern Review stated, “She has no volition, no choices, and therefore it's hard to see her even as …show more content…
a victim. Instead, she suggests in her helplessness the awful inequalities of sex and power and violence” (Kalpakian). She states how Connie is helpless to the wrath of Arnold and what he wants to do to her is going to happen, thus I knew that from early on and was not shocked when I got to the conclusion of the story. The story is good, but I knew all along that Connie would not have a bright future, thus I did not feel the same suspense as I did while reading “The Lottery” due to the fear of the unknown, which had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going on. The purpose of the two stories can be deciphered after deep though and reviewing, thus in “The Lottery” the purpose is to show how to an author can easily trip the reader up in terms of the plot in order to achieve a true suspense full ending.
While in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” The purpose is to show how the slow buildup of suspense can keep the reader on their toes almost how a sudden plot twist can. Both authors tell the stories to show the dark side of human nature, “The Lottery” shows what savages a community can transform into when times are tough. While “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” on the other hand shows the evil hidden within an individual in a real life situation. I enjoyed both stories, but the climax in “The Lottery” lead me to enjoy the story a lot more than “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” due to the sudden plot twist Jackson provided, as well as the fear of the unknown present in her
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Comparing "The Lottery by Shirley Jackson" and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin
The characterization of Connie in the short story, “Where Are You Going? Where have you been?” affects the theme of who is to blame for the kidnapping by portraying Connie as a pretty girl to into herself, a puerile teenager that cannot decide who to be, and a reluctant girl that ignores her mother. This characterization makes Connie seem immature. When Arnold gets to see Connie, the ignorance and immaturity of Connie gives Arnold Friend the perfect opening to abduct Connie.
The overuse of biblical allusions throughout the story helps to expose the naive nature of Connie that reveals her as a victim of evil which shows that lust often transgresses on an individual’s identity. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates expressed the subjective ideas by symbolizing Arnold Friend as a devil that tempts a clueless teenage girl Connie, who wanted to experience love.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are two very meaningful and fascinating stories. These stories share similarities in symbols and themes but they do not share the same plot which makes it different from one another. Furthermore, “The lottery” was held in New England village where 300 people were living in that village. This event took place every once a year. Besides, the story begins where on one beautiful morning, everyone in that village gathered to celebrate the lottery. The surroundings were such that children were gathering stones while adults were chatting with each other. It was compulsory for every head of family or house to draw a slip of paper out of the box. In addition to that, the family that draws the slip in the black do will have to re draw in order to see who will win the lottery. Therefore, the winner of the lottery will be stoned to death. This is very shocking because in today’s lottery events, the winner will be awarded cash.
The story "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been" written by Carol Oats is about a girl who flaunts her beauty which ultimately leads to her abduction. After the story is read the question is, was the author trying to show Connie's situation as fate or free will? The situation Connie got herself in was caused by free will. Connie's character played a big role in what ultimately happened to her. Connie's actions could give people bad ideas about her, and Connie does leave her house without physical force.
In the story ‘Where are you going, Where have you been?’ by Joyce we can get an insight into Connie's relationship with her mom using the first description we see about Connie's mother and she “noticed everything and knew everything”(4). Here we
Have you ever been so focused on achieving your dreams that you become unaware of your current situation? When we focus on the goals ahead of us, we fail to see the obstacles and dangers that are in front of us. In order to achieve our goals we involuntarily put ourselves in an unwanted situation. Connie, herself, struggles to achieve her goal of being a desirable girl that turns heads when she walks into the room. She becomes so set on being this girl that she doesn’t realize the danger of the situation. In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Oates utilizes metaphors, diction, and imagery to show how Connie is in a constant tug between her reality and her dreams, and how this confines her freedoms in a world that is surrounded with malevolence.
Joyce Carol Oates’s short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” clearly illustrates the loss of innocence adolescents experience as they seek maturity, represented by Connie's dangerous encounter with Arnold Friend. Connie symbolizes the many teens that seek independence from their family in pursuit of maturity. Connie’s great desire to grow up is apparent from the beginning of the story, as she experiments with her sexuality. However, it is clear that Connie is not interested in pursuing a relationship, but relishes the maturity she feels after being with the opposite sex. After following a boy to his car, she was “gleaming with a joy that had nothing to do with Eddie or even this place” (2). This suggests that Connie's exploits
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Ones Who walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin seem to have few differences when it comes to plot and theme.. Both stories paint a picture of a perfect society built on dark secrets of human sacrifice and tradition. From start to finish the authors follow parallel story lines.. It seems the two stories were meant to teach the reader about blind attachment to repetitive rituals and the darkness of sacrifice.
The stories, “The Things they Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, have some similar characteristics and others are different. Keeping a tradition, however, in “The Things they Carried” the main character actually wakes up and changes how he is and becomes more realistic. Unlike “The lottery” where everyone is participating in a murder but not noticing what they are actually doing; to them it is a tradition. The settings are quite the opposite in these stories and also how the characters act. The theme of these stories are the same, however there are other elements that are different in these stories, such as their settings and characters.
In the year 2012- 2013, though several 3.1 public high school students or 81 percent, graduated on time (Public High School Graduation Rates), how many students in that number truly gain the full education. Nowadays, education is necessary, which becomes a controversial issue between parents and the school. Either Charter or Public school encourages the development or improvement of the educational system to our young, beloved children. There are further charters out there which children can stay home, however, still learn enormous things. “Lottery” documentary film is about the controversy between public and charter schools, which tells the stories of four families who tried to find a better educational
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.
In the short story ‘The Lottery’, Shirley Jackson delivers an effective and influential meaning to the reader. However, what makes the story so impactful? Shirley Jackson utilizes a combination of irony, symbolism and an objective point of view to accomplish this master piece. Irony creates suspense, symbolism creates foreshadowing and the point of view wraps this all up to create a story that represents people’s stupidity in blindly following tradition without questioning it.
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”.
In particular, Jackson’s characterization of Tessie forces the reader to feel attached and sympathetic when Tessie is selected to take part in the lottery. The setting of the story gives off an eerie mood because the readers can easily picture the story taking place in their own town. While most of the story is traumatic to the reader, Jackson is hinting at a larger picture. Jackson uses “The Lottery” as a way of warning readers of the dangers of following the crowd.