Comparisons of “The Lottery” and “Rocking Horse Winner”
I. “The Lottery” and the “Rocking Horse Winner”
Comparison is a thug that robs your joy. But it's even more than that - Comparison makes you a thug who beats down somebody - or your soul . Shirley Jackson shares an extraordinary short story, "The Lottery" in a urban town a customary occasion in Vermont on June 27th.
“The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely, and the grass was richly green ” (Jackson, 1948, para. 1). This event symbolizes tainted conduct which prompts passing. The Lottery was yearly occasion where the villager’s names are pull from an old run-down black box. "The Lottery" and the
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The villagers were intense before the lottery began; the pebbles were gathering for the stoning procession. The Lottery and The Rocking Horse Winner, short stories have great resemblances. D. H. Lawrence shares a comprehensive story about Hester’s family financial lack and one of her sons, Paul aim to bring resolution to resolve their financial woes. He decides to use Malabar, the rocking horse to resolve the matter and the outcome leads his demise. Both stories are a reflection of a scapegoat. Leviticus 16:10 tells us, “…the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness ”. The scapegoat the …show more content…
Injurious behavior reveals the evil in one’s heart. “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16). Jackson expresses Tess’s conduct in this way, “Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair.” (Jackson, 1948, para. 45). This reminds us of the Jesus our substitute (scapegoat) who borne our sins and made full payment for the sins of humanity; just like Tess many of our lived a paradigm unruly behavior. The villagers begin to stone to death Tess for her injurious behavior. It’s crucial we are constantly reminded God gives self-control (Galatian 5:22-23). Raymond Westbrook and Theodore Lewis, both a teacher at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD and they put it in such a persuasive way, “scapegoat…involves two goats, one to be sacrificed as a sin offering and the other to be led out into the wilderness ”. Jackson and Lawrence express their story in such as way, the readers will understand the scapegoat is the substitute. The pure sin-offering is completely burnt, but the sullied scapegoat is sent to God alive
As Old Man Warner says “There’s always been a lottery”(136). Everyone is so accustomed to the lottery happening every year that it almost doesn't have an affect on him or her until they are the one chosen to be sacrificed. For example, Mrs. Hutchinson was joking with her husband about the dishes before the lottery started. Once her family drew the marked paper, she started to complain about it not being fair. The story ends with her screaming, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(139) as they begin to stone her. All of a sudden, it was her family, then it was she, and it was all unfair. No one tries to change the tradition all though no one is really forcing him or her to keep it the
The short story ‘The Lottery’ reveals a village of 300 that assemble for a lottery on June 27th every year. The lottery has been held this day for years and years, and has become a classic tradition. The lottery itself is holy to much of its residents, like Mr. Watson, who states that the village in the north is a pack of young crazy fools for removing the lottery. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanti...
In “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, tone and symbolism are equally important elements in comprehending this eerie short story. This dark tale takes place in a small town of about 300 people during the summer. The writer begins by painting a picture of children playing, women gossiping, and men making small-talk of home and finances, putting the reader at ease with a tone of normality. The people of the town coalesce before the lottery conductor, named Mr. Summers, appears to begin the annual town ritual of drawing from a box which will result in the killing of one townsperson by stone throwing. It isn’t until the fateful conclusion when the reader comes to realize there is nothing normal about the
“The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.
The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a wonderful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults ?stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather then laughed."(268) This, in just the third paragraph, is a indication through symbolism of the townsfolk?s sober mood that something was amiss. The setting for the lottery also takes place in the same place as the square dances, the teen-age club, and the Halloween program.(268) This unifies our lives with those of the story sense we can relate to those types of events, and is symbolic in showing that even though this dastardly deed happens here that it is still the main place of celebration. Showing how easy it is for us, as human beings, to clean our conscientious by going back to a place that, on June 27, is a place of death and make it a place of delight.
“The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a provoking piece of literature about a town that continues a tradition of stoning, despite not know why the ritual started in the first place. As Jackson sets the scene, the villagers seem ordinary; but seeing that winning the lottery is fatal, the villagers are then viewed as murders by the reader. Disagreeing with the results of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson is exposed to an external conflict between herself and the town. Annually on June 27th, the villagers gather to participate in the lottery. Every head of household, archetypally male, draws for the fate of their family, but Tessie protests as she receives her prize of a stoning after winning the lottery. Jackson uses different symbols – symbolic characters, symbolic acts, and allegories – to develop a central theme: the
Written by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” is a short story about a town that hosts an annual lottery that decides which person is stoned by the rest of the town. Jackson slowly and subtly builds the suspense throughout the story, only resolving the mystery surrounding the lottery at the very last moment, as the townspeople surround Tessie with their stones. The symbolism utilized helps demonstrate the overall significance of the story, such as the lottery itself. The lottery shows the way people desperately cling to old traditions, regardless of how damaging they may be. In addition, it can show how callous many will act while staring at a gruesome situation, until they become the victims.
After the reader finds out the Tessie has the black dot the next step is almost immediate. “‘All right, folks,’ Mr. Summers said, ‘let’s finish quickly’” (par. 73). Without question, the villagers pick up the rocks and start hurling them at Tessie. Even her kid, Davy Hutchinson throws rocks at his mother. As seen in the Holocaust, questioning Hitler was useless because if the Nazi’s did they would just get sent to the concentration camps with the Jews. The only evidence one can see of people standing up is the people who helped free the Jews by hiding them, but even then the Nazi party rejected it and would kill the person as soon as they found out. Shirley Jackson again shows the reader how the book is a retelling of a historic event by blindly
Toward the finale of the short story, Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” declares, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the black box, they still remembered to use stones” (873). Many of the residents display no knowledge of the lottery and only participate because of tradition. In fact, only Old Man Warner recollects the authentic purpose of the lottery. He furnishes some insight behind the tradition of the lottery by declaring, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 871). Old Man Warner reveals the original reason for holding the lottery, but Jackson clearly demonstrates that the original purpose no longer exists. The villagers comprehend the procedure of stoning the victim but nothing else. Nick Crawford articulates in an easy about “The Lottery,” “The most disturbing thing about Tessie Hutchinson’s unexpected demise is its...
Using “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne an analysis of othering and outsiders within disparate societies has been provided. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the protagonist is more justified in the stand they take than the protagonist in Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Mrs. Hutchinson is more justified in her stand because she is basing her stand on a real-life event that impacts the lives of the whole community while Young Goodman Brown shuns and judges everyone for a reality that he does not know is real to begin with. Both protagonists take stands against their perceived injustices: Mrs. Hutchinson by speaking up against the lottery and Young Goodman Brown by shutting himself
The desire to obtain additional wealth and worldly possessions is a nature that is sinful and demonstrates greed. It is a necessity to take care of the needs of one's family, but it is purely selfish to want more. Greed is not a modern sin, it has been around since the beginning of mankind. God provided Adam and Eve with every element that they needed to prosper, but they desired the one thing that was deemed off-limits; the fruit from the tree (Genesis 1, English Standard Version). This greed served no greater purpose, but instead began the fall of mankind. The townspeople in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Hester in "The Rocking Horse Winner", by D.H. Lawrence, are prime examples of people who are not content with the blessings that they
The sacrifice made to appease the gods is an ancient custom to insure that the harvest provides what is necessary to support the village. Amy Griffin describes this phenomenon in her essay “Jackson's The Lottery” by saying “ancient peoples began sacrificial rituals to emulate the resurrection cycle” and describes the resurrection cycle, what she terms the scapegoat archetype, as “transferring one's sins to persons or animals and then sacrificing them, people believed that their sins would be eliminated”(44). This removing of sins was supposed to appease the gods and allow them to bless the village with prosperity. The majority of the village is oblivious to this meaning, the sacrifice of one for the benefit of the whole. Old Man Warner, however, does remember “used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon'” (Jackson 393). Old Man Warner is, however, the only one that remembers anything about this original meaning. Death by stoning, which in itself is ancient and steeped in many rituals, is the fate that awaits the chosen victim....
The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.
The lottery in the story was the game in which the prize was death. In reality this lottery symbolized the game of life, and how our behavior as human beings influences our choices in life and therefore our destiny. In this case the lottery signified winning eternal peace. This symbol helped the author develop the meaning of the story, because it is all based on the game of winning or losing. The way people from the village conducted the lottery was kind of scary, because they organized it as if it was another important event, such as the “square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program” (Jackson 212). This shows how this tradition was taken as seriously as other occurrences that took place in the village. A person with some logic would not find this to be exactly a “game”, but the population followed the tradition and did not even think about the possibility to drop it, because then they would not know what to do, or what other event would they organize for June 27th. During the lottery Mr. Adams said “some places have already quit the lotteries” as of insinuating that if the neighbor towns forgot about the tradition, they should not have to keep following it (215). The bad thing is that no one paid attention to hi...
Most if not all of the villagers seem to view the death of Tessie as necessary and traditional. To the people of this community, death has