In the story “The Lottery” all the people in a little town get together to join in a lottery. Tessie Hutchinson gets the winning ticket with the black spot on it. The black spot on the slip of paper means she will be stoned to death. Everyone joins together to stone Tessie. No one cared that they were about to stone her not even her family. Tessie though it was ok to be a part of something like this in the beginning but now that she got picked she didn’t think it was ok because it was her that was going to be stoned. There is a lot of irony in this story one example is that Tessie’s mom was so loving and caring in the beginning of the story, but at the end when Tessie wins the mom doesn’t seem to care that her daughter is about to be stoned to death. Secondly, I find it ironic that Tessie encourages her husband to go pick the piece of paper, but in the end he picks the paper with the black spot on it. Lastly, it is ironic that Mrs. Delacroix was all nice in the beginning, but in the end she is the one that picks up the biggest stone to throw at Tessie. Mrs. Delacroix was encouraging it by saying “come one” and “hurry up”. …show more content…
Firstly, the black spot on the little slips of paper means death to the winner, but they would not tell you who won till the end. Tessie who won really just got stoned to death which really isn’t winning. Secondly, Mr. Summers arrived with the black wooden box which seems ominous, as it later proves to be a sign of death. Thirdly, some of the names in “The Lottery” really give you a sign of death for an example, Mr. Graves you think of a graveyard of the dead, and Mrs. Delacroix’s name means “cross” and you maybe think of someone hanging on a cross to die. Names can tell you something happens before it really does happen and in this case it means
“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
The town's citizens are eager, gathering in the town square in order to take part in the yearly lottery. With the story focused around one particular family, the Hutchinsons, who are so anxious to get it all over with until they find that one of their members is to participate in the lottery's closing festivities, Tessie. Of course, unlike your typical lotteries, this is not one that you would want to win. The one chosen from the lottery is to undertake a cruel and unusual death by stoning at the hands of their fellow townsmen for the sake that it may bring a fruitful crop for the coming harvest season. Ironically, many of the towns people have suggested that the lottery be put to an end, but most find the idea unheard of being that they have lived in it's practice for most of their lives.
The lottery itself is conducted in a black box using paper-slips. The color black represents death, as the future of someone’s life will be decided from it. The dark mood is felt when it is introduced. A general feeling of nervousness is spread throughout the crowd, the younger people in particular.
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
The story is about a small community somewhere in America that has followed the tradition of “The Lottery” for many years without ever questioning it, or trying to go against it. The first obvious hint of irony is that the story is named “The Lottery.” In today’s society a reader would think this story is about someone who is about to win a large sum of money, but in this story it has a very different meaning. Once the drawing is about to start a woman by the name of Tessie Hutchinson comes running down the path to the square saying; “clean forgot what today was…” Mr. Summers the conductor of the lottery says to Tessie; “Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie.” Mrs. Hutchinson said grinning, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink now, would you, Joe?” (Henry, 375). After everyone picks their piece of paper the Hutchinson’s find out that they’re the family that has the piece of paper with the black spot on it. They then put their paper back in the box to draw again and whichever member of the family has the black spot on it is the one who is then stoned to death. Tessie is the one who has the black spot on it. Once everyone closes in on her she begins to yell, “It isn’t fair” (Henry, 379). If it had been anyone else besides herself she would’ve joined in on stoning that member of the community. Also, it is ironic that the woman who had forgotten that it was the day of the lottery is the one who ends up losing her
The narrator informs the reader how the townspeople want to keep the lottery going because it traditionally comes from their ancestors. This black wooden box is old, worn, and faded, but Mr. Summers, one of the characters, talks about making a new one, but the villagers say, “[N]o one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (420). Evidently, the color of the box associates darkness and evil, which indicates the universal symbol of death. Sadly, whoever’s name comes out of it awaits a death sentence immediately. The box represents how powerful, and fearful it brings among others because the people are reluctant to change that
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.
In the short story “The Lottery” Tessie spoke up for what was “right”. Her husband or head of the family drew the first card with a black dot on it, and Tessie was upset about this drawing and called out to Mr. Summers, saying that it wasn’t fair and that he didn’t give her husband enough time to pick the card he wanted. She did all of this because she was afraid of picking the next card for her family and her being the one to get “stoned” (killed by villagers throwing rocks at her). Then again “standing up for what’s right may not be the easiest path” as shown here she went up and picked with her family and of course she got the card with the black dot on it and when she was backing up into the corner with the rocks and pebbles she was saying the same thing like “it’s not fair he didn’t have enough time to pick the one he wanted this is not right” then the villagers were upon her.
At first glance the title “The Lottery” could be seen as an opportunity to win something of value. Once read title is deceptive and dark with the titles true essence being the winner of the lottery ‘wins’ the loss of his or her life.
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
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” is a story which shows the complexity and capability of human behavior. Something immoral, like stoning a person to death once a year, is a normal occurrence. The main character, Tessie Hutchinson, is the victim of the lottery. Tessie is a character with a number of seemingly good characteristics, yet her surrounding culture rejects these characteristics. The majority of the people in the village has opposite attitudes and beliefs in comparison to Tessie’s. These attitudes and beliefs reflect her personal desires which quickly struggle against the culture’s expectations. Tessie is unlike the other villagers; she is initially indifferent to the lottery indicating her desires are unrelated to the lottery. Upon winning the lottery, Tessie changes and her personal desires to survive and reject the lottery emerge in her selfishness and outspoken personality. These struggles against the village’s expectations are shown through the culture’s emphasis on tradition and small town ties.
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.
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
The title of the story plays a role in how Shirley Jackson used some literary elements to help mask the evils and develop the story. The title “The Lottery” serves as an allegory. When people think of the lottery majority of people associate it with something good like the New York State Lottery where you can win some money. In the story it is used as a way to pick someone to be killed. In the story everyone gathers in the town square and the town’s people draw family names until a black dot is one the slip of paper. Which