Essay about The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

The short story “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, takes place on the morning of June 27th. People gathered each year for the lottery; the lottery took less than two hours. People gathered in small groups to talk as well as exchange gossip. Soon Mr. Summers brought out the black box that contained slips of paper that had the family's’ names. On the back of the slip, there is a black dot and that is used to choose the family. All the families were wondering the same question, “Who has the slip of paper with the black dot?” The Hutchinson family was the chosen family; they returned the slip along with drew one more time. When each family member got a slip they had to hold the slip. Everyone said “blank” except for Tessie, the wife. Tessie, the mother, was the chosen one. The villagers then proceeded to take rocks from a pile prepared before the ceremony and threw them at Tessie.“‘It isn’t fair,’ she said as the first stone hit her side.

The theme of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is that frequently, people have no concern about inequity until they are the victims of such injustice. Tessie Hutchinson approves of the lottery and its purpose, until she is chosen and experiences the brutality first hand.

On the other hand, “The Lottery” was written in 1948, not long after the end of World War II and The Great Depression. The two events changed the way people in society related with one another, in such a way that people were made to embrace the thinking that every man would be on their own in order to survive. This is shown throughout the story by the citizens not having a problem with the lottery until if affects them directly. Jackson’s story also shows the sense of division and sexism between men and women associated with the 1940s. Women were often fired from their jobs in order to make room for the retuning male soldiers and were expected to return home to stay with the family. This idea of women being forced from one position of power to a lower position is shown in the last scene of “The Lottery” when the “winner” Tessie Hutchinson is the one who receives the black dot and is stoned to death. She tries to fight for her life but in the end is over powered by society’s rules.

The literal level of "The Lottery" illustrates a town's chilling tradition of a random selection of death by stoning of a certain person. Figuratively, however, one aspect of Jackson's short story bravely reveals the reality of society's control over women by placing on them expectations and limitations.

In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses the death of Tessie Hutchison to show how the ideas of the Witch Trails still affects the rituals of a 20th century town. Jackson uses the small towns ritual and the death of a local woman to show how the ideas of the witch trails still affect modern communities, and how people are willing to blindly follow those of authority, no matter the consequence. Even though there is no mention of witches or the Witch Trails, there is enough background information on Jackson to provide sufficient evidence to assume that she based some of this story off the trails.

The famous civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said: “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people,” capturing the main message of the short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, perfectly, because of the themes of peer pressure and tradition present throughout the story. In this story, the people of a small village gather for their annual tradition, a lottery, in which one person is picked at random out of a box containing each of the villagers’ names. The village, which is not specifically named, seems like any other historic village at first, with the women gossiping, the men talking, and the children playing, but soon takes a sinister turn when it

Jackson developed the character of Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson to demonstrate the callous and often unthinking ways of the younger generation. Growing up in this community, or even one in the nearby area, she most likely has been a part of lotteries since she was born. This is a completely normal event that most probably has little meaning to her before this day. The day seems to be so commonplace to Mrs. Hutchinson that she states to her friend, "Clean forgot what day it was, thought my old man was out back stacking wood." (Jackson 2) The lottery does not begin to have an actual impact on her until it is her family that must draw lots. Suddenly, the events have new meaning. It is no longer a simple tradition to ensure fruitful crops; it is an unjust occurrence that needs to be changed. At some point along the way, Tessie Hutchinson becomes so desperate that she is willing to throw her own children into the mix in an effort to save herself. Is Jackson trying to show that the new generation, the one now in control, has no concern for their own? This is a very

Shirley Jackson starts off her short story, “The Lottery”, by setting up a peaceful summer day on June 27th. The story continues to describe different people in the village gathering in the square. First the children arrive and collect stones and then the men arrive, and shortly after their wives. The story proceeds to talk about the conductor of civic activities, Mr. Summers, and how joyful and full of life he was despite having no children of his own. Jackson then wrote about the black box used for the lottery; how it was made from the original box and how there never was going to be a new box because that was tradition. When everything seemed ready to begin, a woman, Mrs. Hutchinson, arrives late and jokes are made about her

Our setting emanates a positive atmosphere, the children in the square are collecting stones, and the adults trading small-talk. However, the village holds a “lottery.” Far from the common interpretation of the word. Do our characters, Mr. Warner and Mr. Graves, exhibit change? Showing two sides of humanity rarely seen side by side? While providing a dark view into a fictional world, with their behavior also correlating with the general theme of the story? Yes, they do. They represent the foundation of giving a clear indication of how something as simple as tradition, can change one’s behavior for the worst.

In the nineteenth century thing were different. The tradition was followed no matter what, even if it may cause your life. In Shirley Jackson fiction short story entitles “The lottery” through her utilization of setting and dialogue, she passes on the subject that when you are a part of a group, it's hard to conflict with the traditions of the group since they have been generally accepted for so long, even though some people from the group don’t want to follow the tradition.

The short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is set on the morning of June 27th in a small village of three hundred people. The story begins with the gathering of families from the village getting together to participate in the lottery. The lottery is lead by Mr.Simmons, a well known man who often runs different events in the village. The rules of the lottery were that for each family named, the head of the family comes up and draws a piece of paper. At the end when everybody has their paper, it is discovered that Bill Hutchinson is the person who got the paper with an ink blot. Immediately his wife,Tessie defends him and asks for a redraw. Mr.Simmons agrees, however, this time the whole family has to draw. In the end, Tessie is the one

Although the writer gives ample clues throughout the story, the reader finds itself so shocked at the end of the story, he feels the impact of the stone thrown right along with Tessie. To end with such a climactic feeling, the author uses several forms of literary devices; however, the two that I will explore are setting and irony.

The lottery is an iconic horror story, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. Although the story is short, there is great meaning packed into Jackson’s words including symbolism, irony, and foreshadowing. She incorporated these components of literature to strengthen the story’s overall message: following traditions blindly leads to unnecessary violence and general inhumanity in life, thus they should be looked at in a new light.

“The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, is one of the most crucial pieces of literature to read as well as learn about. This piece was published in 1948 and caused a stir in the literature world. In “The Lottery,” Jackson uses tone throughout the story to help portray the theme. Jackson creates an absolute, barbaric tradition to illustrate the crowds’ mentality and the townspeople’s inability to speak out against injustice when perpetrated by their neighbors.

A story that could capture anyone’s attention is the story called The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. The story starts off right away with the setting. “On a warm day in late June the 27th.” The villages in there town all gather together to participate in the lottery. The game was ruled by Mr. Summers. The head of the household would forward to a black wooden box, where each selects a slip of paper. The paper is then put into a box and drawn to see who will win the money. The small town is basically devouring a member of its own community. One of the charters Tess whose name was on the piece of paper and she proses in vain as the villages attack her.