Appearance Vs. Reality In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

627 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Perception quizlet

The concept of appearance versus reality is seen in everyday lives; including in societies, families and their practices. It makes one oblivious to their surroundings and the world they live in. In the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the characters and their actions illustrate a positive appearance that can ultimately result in a dystopian reality. The characters of Mr. Summers, Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie along with Bobby Martin and the boys evidently demonstrate the conception of appearance versus reality in a village.
In the story, Mr. Summer is recognized as a successful businessman and his devotion to civic activities however, the villagers pitied him. "He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and the people were sorry for him because he had no children and his wife was a scold" (Jackson). It is revealed that a person can have all the success in the world but live an unhappy life, in the case of the village a family is greater than success. Mr. Summers makes the lottery appear as if it were a pleasant unified town tradition instead, the significance behind the lottery …show more content…

Delacroix and Tessie until Tessie is chosen for the lottery. "Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up" (Jackson). Mrs. Delacroix's actions display her eagerness to betray Tessie. She appears to be Tessie's friend at the beginning of the story but encourages that the villagers stone her. Before chosen, Tessie is eager to see the lottery through but once she is selected she is just as eager to get out of it. " There's Don and Eva," Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. "Make them take their Chance!" (Jackson). Tessie appears to support the lottery but she comprises her role as good citizen when she offers up her children instead of herself therefore displaying her true selfish

Show More
Related

  • Duality Of Human Nature In The Lottery

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    She does the lottery just like everyone else, and reacts to it just like everyone else. Towards the beginning of the story, where she is greeted by a late Tessie, she joked around with Tessie and was nice to her. Mrs.Delacroix became nervous when her husband went up to draw just like all the other women. However, when Bill Hutchinson was chosen, her attitude towards Tessie completely changed, “Be a good sport, Tessie,”. She became rude with her, and she seemed aggressive. It seems like she wanted Tessie to be quiet and to stop talking. This was shown very clearly in the movie. This is part of Mrs. Delacroix’s second side. Then once Tessie was chosen, she acted as if they never had any type of relationship, “Mrs.Delacroix selected a stone so large, she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs.Dunbar. “Come on,” she said “Hurry up.”. That is when humanity went out the window for Mrs.Delacroix, and when her true self came

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas And The Lottery

    635 Words  | 2 Pages

    They felt that it was right to give up one person for the sake of others. They would never “throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of happiness of one” (6). A thought concluded in their minds that there is no true utopia, life needs misery to understand what happiness is. Tessie stated that “it isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (155) when she “won”. She realised the brutality of her friends and family when she was chosen. The two societies believed that the only method of happiness was determined by

    Read More

  • How Does Jackson Create Suspense In The Lottery

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tessie Hutchinson’s late arrival at the lottery seemed almost normal because people do get caught up in a chore and run late. The late arrival set her apart from the crowd. Mr. Summers, the man drawing the “winning” ticket from the box, noticed Tessie arriving late and states “Thought we were going to have to get on without you (567),” which is predictive about Tessie’s fate. Jackson produces suspense through the arrival of Tessie Hutchinson.

    Read More

  • Generational And Moral Conflict In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tessie Hutchinson plays a significant role by displaying hypocrisy and human weakness.She protest against the lottery when her family is endangered, she complains ironically and shouted to Mr. Summers, “you did not give him enough time to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (pg. 247). Her statement about the fairness of the lottery is ironic because until her family was selected, she does not seem to believe that the lottery is unfair.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Symbolism Essay

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    This simultaneously relieves some of the suspense regarding the result of the lottery, while also adding even more tension, as the audience still does not know Tessie Hutchinson’s fate.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Symbolism Analysis

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the story, we see her desiring going to the lottery. She was laughing, joking, and encouraging her husband to go up and get a drawing when he didn’t move right away. She never would have suspected her family would be chosen, and furthermore, herself. Jackson creates a great contrast between Tessie’s nonchalance and the crowd’s nervousness (Yarmove). When her family is chosen, her character changes around knowing that there’s the possibility of her own death. Tessie’s character change is shocking, but falls into place with the holocaust. She symbolizes the human instinct of survival, and tries to offer up her own children and their families to lower her chances of death. In Yarmove’s analysis of Jackson’s work, he writes “It is the peevish last complaint of a hypocrite who has been hoisted by her own petard” to drive this thought home. The Nazis involved in the roundup of the ‘lesser’ people, alongside with whoever aided, did so because either they were naïve enough to believe they wouldn’t be killed themselves, or because they believed in the cause. Tessie symbolizes those who did so because they thought they wouldn’t be

    Read More

  • The Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. When Tessie wins the lottery; she

    Read More

  • Dialectical Journal For The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    She stood out from the other villagers. She was a free spirit who was able to forget about the lottery entirely. Tessie is the only villager who protested against the lottery. 10. Yes, The story needed to be read a second time.

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Imagery in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    749 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the story, Jackson introduces characters whose names are very symbolic to the story. The ultimately foreshadow the climax of the story. There is Mr. Summers who conducts the lottery. His name is significant because the lottery takes place on a warm summer day. There is also Mr. Graves who is the postmaster. He helps Mr. Summers prepare the names for the lottery and helps him conduct the lottery. His name is significant because it foreshadows that there will be a grave because at the end of the lottery some one will die. Mr. Graves is also one of the first people in front of the crowd ready to throw stones. He is ultimately sending her to her grave. This hints that there will be a death during the summer, which is the end result of the lottery drawing.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Time And Place In Everyday Use By Alice Walker

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    In an agriculture-dominant village, the lottery is practiced as the annual tradition. The “fortunate” lottery winner will be stoned to death by the town after a few rounds of drawing lots. Such flabbergasted ritual is seen as a norm in that village and the villagers even feel excited over this cruel occasion due to the mob psychology of people. The villagers abandon their rationale in demonstrating violence towards the innocent “winner”. When Tessie draws the winner piece, everyone in the village straight up turns on her with stones and pebbles including Mrs. Delacroix, her

    Read More

  • The Dangers Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    When asked if there was anyone else in the household, Tessie claims, “There’s Don and Eva... Make them take their chance” (Jackson 5). By volunteering her daughters, that are married and thus draw with their one families, Tessie shows that she would rather have a family member be stoned to death than herself. She is also set out as a hypocrite because she does not complain when any other family is picking slips (if another family had picked the slip she would have stoned someone else to death), she only questions the lottery when her family is the one that has to choose. She cried out multiple times, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 8), questioning the fairness of the tradition after she is the one chosen to be stoned to death. Tessie finally sees outside of the bubble that everyone in the village is in. It is here that we see that violence is acceptable until it becomes

    Read More

  • Analysis of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Character Analysis Essay

    1131 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson arrives late, having “cleanly forgotten 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 caught up in her everyday household chores that she does not remember that on this one day of the year someone was going to be stoned to death at the lottery.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Violence In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tessie Hutchinson was angry that her husband had gotten the lottery, so the family drew again. In the final draw, the crowd saw that Tessie had gotten the paper with the black dot. The instant the crowd knew who got the lottery, they began grabbing the stones the boys had piled up earlier. Formerly, Mr. Summers joined the crowd and said “let’s finish quickly” to be in time for noon dinner(Jackson, 7). At this instant, Mrs. Delacroix had “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” for the ritual(Jackson, 7). This sentence shows how terrible the lottery is and how extreme it can get. Without delay, Tessie is standing in the middle of the crowd when “a stone hit her on the side of the head” and that was the signal to begin the ritual(Jackson, 7). The lottery is just a cruel thing to the victim and their family who have to watch and be a part

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy In Society: A Human Society, By Shirley Jackson

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    This practice is common almost everywhere but Jackson provided the audience lens to what a hypocrite looks to the sane eye. From the beginning of the story the people in the town seem to be ok with the practice of the lottery. The character of Tessie Hutchinson is the biggest example of hypocrisy in the story. As she is introduced, her attitude demonstrated an indifference to the ritual. She arrived late claiming she did not remember what day it was and later jokes with her husband about being late. Her attitude makes the reader feel as if this dreadful ritual was just a common event that no one minds. Later in the story the reader finds out that her family has “won”. At this point her attitude change completely. She began to complain by saying: "You didn 't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn 't fair!" As this happens other characters in the story who had humorlessly engaged her before the lottery, began to act indifferent towards Tessie argument by saying, “Be a good sport, Tessie” and “All of us took the same chance” This characters also make it clear that everyone is very hypocrite to the friendship they appear to have towards the character of Tessie. While the story progresses, the readers find out that Tessie was chose the piece of paper with the mark that indicated she was the one to be sacrificed. By now, the character of Tessie had realized all of the years she participated she was participating in a very immoral act. Before the stone her to death she tries one more time to convince his friends, neighbors, and family members that the ritual being practice is a mistake by yelling “It isn 't fair, it isn 't right." Tessie Hutchinson realized the danger of living a hypocrite life when it was too

    Read More

More about Appearance Vs. Reality In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Open Document