Analysis Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

"The Lottery" takes place on June 27, a beautiful summer day, in a small New England village where all the residents are gathering for their traditional annual lottery. Though the event first appears festive, it soon becomes clear that no one wants to win the lottery. Tessie Hutchinson seems unconcerned about the tradition until her family draws the dreaded mark. Then she protests that the process wasn't fair. The "winner," it turns out, will be stoned to death by the remaining residents. Tessie wins, and the story closes as the villagers -- including her own family members -- begin to throw rocks at her.

Since the emergence of the written word humans around the world have used literature to convey emotions and invoke thought within others. This invocation of thought and conveyance of emotion arises not only from the words themselves, but also through the usage of literary elements that enhance the overall transmission of the authors message. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” displays a masterful usage of literary elements to better convey Jackson’s general purpose, such as through the deep symbolism and underlying theme; however, Jackson’s true provocation of emotion is accomplished through her quintessential use of point of view. The objective point of view is indispensable within “The Lottery” because of the creation

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a terrify story about a small town and their traditions. The Ending of the lottery is the most shocking many of its readers have ever read. Why is it so shocking. Well Shirley jackson uses sybolism and simple narritive and her normal life to convey such a shock.

As the stoning process begins, Mr. Summers announces, “'All right folks, let’s finish quickly,'” (p.209). This remark proves that this village does not cherish human life where they will do anything for a successful outcome. This ritual sacrifice is something the younger generations might foresee as something not right or barbaric to do. Mrs. Adams says, “‘some places have already quit lotteries,'” (p. 207). Old Man Warner who has been to 77 lotteries angrily argues, “'There always been a lottery...nothing but trouble in that, pack of young fools,'” (p.207). This shows that the young people are wanting to go off the trail and get rid of lottery because they see no good in it. The older generations see the lottery as a tradition that has been practiced for many years, it must keep living

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a literary exploration of society’s obsession with tradition, even when it crosses the line of morality. Jackson’s difficult family life becomes evident through the subjects of her writing, as well as her aversion to traditional family dynamics. Jackson’s outlook on society was heavily influenced by her personal life experiences.

Mr Summers was the leader of the group, he took control and conducted everything, the name Summers can be related to sunshine, joy and overall good things. He made everything to be as happy as possible even though he knew death was coming soon, possibly for him. The Lottery sparked some debates about the sheer horror of how Jackson displayed humans so easy to turn and kill friends and even family if their luck was just right. I believe that Jackson represented humanity with the village because they felt emotions like humans they were scared, anxious, and confused just as humans are when they are driven to kill but also represented Hitler and the Nazis as spirit of the community because the community was influenced so severely by the idea of the lottery and what it represented they were willing to kill mothers, fathers, siblings and friends even their own

"The Lottery," is a cautionary tale about how blindly following traditions can lead to dire situations. Jackson presents a look into lampoons traditions, townsfolk, and the cruelty of others when allowed blindly following traditions.

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, is a short story that was written in the 1948 issue of The New Yorker. The short-story is based on a fictional small town that holds a yearly lottery that determines the future of one of its citizens. After this dark short-story was released, it received multiple negative reviews and caused several readers to cancel their subscriptions with The New Yorker. Although the future of one of the citizens is not vividly described, the reader gets a clear understanding of it. Throughout the short-story, the authors choice of not releasing the meaning of the lottery, the tradition’s history, and overall betrayal, leave the story to be open to interpretation by the readers.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson was published in “The New Yorker” on June 26, 1948. It is considered as one of the most disturbing short stories of modern America. The plot in “The Lottery” is not clear for the reader until the end of the story, and this setting gives a big jump when the story reveals the real truth. In “The Lottery,” one of the main characters, Tessie Hutchison, gets stoned to death by her family and friends as the result of the annual event of the lottery. The tradition, characters struggle and the inevitable death of a person each year gives an insight of the tradition that the town has performed for so many years.

When I was a child, I listened to and followed the traditions of my parents. I never questioned it; I blindly followed along. As an adult, I understand that some traditions passed down from generation to generation are important; however, for traditions that do not make sense to me, I chose not to pass to the next generation. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the characters blindly follow a tradition that no one is certain how started but continue anyway. The purpose of the lottery in the story is to decided who in the town will be stoned to death because they believe it will ensure a fertile growing season. We do not know the year in which the story takes place, but we do know that some of the surrounding towns and communities are also participating in the lottery, and that some of the other towns have chosen to discontinue it. While some believe that the traditions passed down from their elders should be honored and carried out blindly, others think that some traditions that don’t make sense need to be stopped. Just like in Jackson’s “The Lottery” the ideology of blindly following traditions can have an adverse effect on society.

[Boston: Wadsworth, 2015] 259-266) she exhilarates how admirable, modest people can execute such a cruel, immoral action due to the blind acceptance of traditions. Jackson brilliantly illustrates how senseless traditions and their transformations are to fabricate such an unforgettable story. In the beginning of “The Lottery,” it is apparent tradition is the theme of the story. The opening paragraph states, “The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock.”

If everyone else was doing something, would you? Or maybe if someone needed to be stood up for, would you have their back? In The Lottery, people do follow other people blindly. And the consequences are devastating. But in First They Came, not having someone’s back might get you in the same position…

For as long as I can remember, I have valued the importance of tradition and simplicity. Instead of playing computer games with my siblings, I remember begging to play a simple game of tag or throw a ball back and forth. Although my siblings tease me to this day about my desire to play such elementary games, I pride myself on my values of customs and simplicity. Elements of my most valued memories include my family coming together to engage in what we could all involve ourselves in and enjoy. The few times we took a break from our personal issues was to come together to share or forget them. These sessions usually took place around our wooden dinner table and now that I am starting a life of my own, I imagine the one empty chair at the table. The once lively “New family dinners” are reduced to only four members and as uncomfortable as I am with it, I am aware that our entire family’s dynamic is changing. Like the story, “They Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the absence of tradition can make some uneasy.

The last device that Shirley Jackson uses in The Lottery is tone. Shirley Jackson is know to be a little bit creepy in her writing and this is exhibited in this short story. The tone of the story is set up right from the beginning of the story when she mentions the townspeople gathering on a sunny summer day with a pile of stones next to the group. The reader begins to think about a happy day in this community, but the tone is set up for something out of the norm to occur. Critic of The Lottery, Nicole Smith, writes about Shirley Jackson’s creepy style of writing by saying, “One of the other unspoken disturbing elements of “The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is that the reader is never sure what the outcome of the lottery is going to be. We know

As far back as the 1770s, humans have been reluctant to rebuff the traditions that they believed in. Supporters of the status quo have used the philosophy of “Things have always been done this way, so why change now?” For example, despite the Declaration of Independence clearly stating that “all men are created equal,” slavery was still a substantial part of life in the 1770s. White men supported slavery wholeheartedly, and did not see the point in getting rid of it. This situation is similar to that in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” Old Man Warner remarked that the other towns that are getting rid of the lottery are insane. Towns have been participating in the lottery for as long as