The Psychological World of Shirley Jackson
Although Shirley Jackson had many psychological problems, she contributed greatly to society through her works. Shirley Jackson was a profound and ambivalent writer. She did not write to please the world but she wrote to convey how she felt about societies in the world. Her psychological problems did have an affect on her writing and it greatly connects with her life. Shirley Jackson was a very unwelcomed writer in her time and that is because many readers did not want to believe that what she wrote was true. Jackson wrote on the horrors that the human being is capable of. Furthermore, Jackson’s mental state only strengthened her work, giving her the advantage of a new perspective; one that most individuals in society lacked.
Shirley Jackson grew up in a home like any other normal middle-class family. She lived with both of her parents in Burlington, California. Growing up, Shirley had a lot of tense relations with her parents, but mostly with her mother. Leslie Jackson, Shirley’s mother, set high standards for Shirley by the ways she was perceived by society and social norms. Shirley always seemed to disappoint her mother. The emotionally tearing and psychologically damaging relationship with her mother escalated to the point where her mother even told her she wished she had aborted Shirley. Roberta Rubenstein makes a great point in her work: House Mothers and Haunted Daughters: Shirley Jackson and Female Gothic, of the mental stress her mother put on her as a child that carried on throughout her life. Rubenstein says, “Throughout her life, Shirley was distressed by her mother’s profound insensitivity to her actual personality, combined with persistent attempts to control her unconven...
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Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
Bobbie Ann Mason’s family faced the challenges of most southern families needing to adapt to changing times and cultures. Mason’s mom was able to adapt to the new idea of women’s role by leave the farm and working for a factory while maintaing her role as a caring mother and housewife. With new forms of entertainment and ideas by popular culture her family was able to stay in touch with changing times. And even though she left home for the big cities like a lot of people Bobbie Ann Mason never forgot her where she came from and her family.
...e who suffer from mental illnesses by creating an intriguing story that showed the injustices and lack of understanding present in the 19th century.
When the strong devours the weak, its nature in its purest form. Yet when one over-powers another repetitively to hurt them physically and mentally, that is bullying; human cruelty. The Lottery is a good story with a plot twist that has some major points that relate to bullying in schools. The lottery can be easily contrasted to bullying because they connect together with power imbalance, repetitive actions and human cruelty; Even if are the most intelligent creatures on Earth, we are the most brutal monsters since the start of time. The setting of The Lottery is at the past where humans had valued traditions, while bullying is in modern day time, no matter the past or present; we humans are cruel as deep the universe can be.
Shameless is a U.S TV show that has quickly gathered a cult-like following. The show focuses on a family, the Gallagher’s, and their fight to survive in the Southside of Chicago. The father is an alcoholic and relies on schemes to make money, forcing the children to learn to fend for themselves and rely on their friends in the neighborhood. One of these friends is a middle aged woman named Sheila Jackson, and it is very clear from the first time her character is introduced that she is definitely abnormal and has trouble functioning. Sheila suffers from Agoraphobia, fear and avoidance of situations which causes a person to feel unsafe. (Durand & Barlow, 2016) In Sheila’s case, her agoraphobia causes her to be unable to leave her home. This causes
The lack of support and affection protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, causes them to construct their lives on their own without a motherly figure. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, displays the development of Sula and Nel through childhood into adulthood. Before Sula and Nel enter the story, Morrison describes the history of the Peace and Wright family. The Peace family live abnormally to their town of Medallion, Ohio. Whereas the Wrights have a conventional life style, living up to society’s expectations.The importance of a healthy mother-daughter relationship is shown through the interactions of Eva and Hannah Peace, Hannah and Sula, and between Helene Wright and Nel. When Sula and Nel become friends they realize the improper parenting they
Not all people expose their opinions through books, but Toni Morrison believes that language and storytelling are main parts of revealing the “truth”. She makes it obvious in her novel Beloved, that slavery should not be seen just as something that physically harmed but sometime thing that also altered the emotional state of slaves. In the book Morrison presents this view through a family’s past and present experiences. She makes this “truth” noticeable with the constant use of repetition, parallel structure and metaphors throughout the book.
• AW always turned to writing when she was depressed, in these periods she got the greatest inspiration to her stories.
Jayne Anne Phillips is one of the well known contemporary Post Modern Feminist writers of American literature. She is the author of several collections of literary pieces and whose works have been translated in twelve languages. To Bollas, unknowingly everything has been inculcated into the memory being as the fetus in the mother’s womb. In the novel ‘Quiet Dell’ Phillips has shown this trauma through two characters. It was written in Oct 13, 2013. It was written based on the true incident happened in Quiet Dell in 1931, West Virginia.
Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.
Though it ended abruptly, it was full of symbolism, irony and plot twists. I am sure many people of her time found the story inappropriate. Shirley Jackson showed many people how cruel humans can be and how blind we are when it comes to traditions. In this short story, you see fear, lack of free will, conformity, and the will to
Thesis: In Beloved, Toni Morrison talks about family life, mother-daughter relationships, and the psychological impact from slavery.
In Jackson’s “The Lottery” (1948), she lulls the reader into thinking that the story is going to end on a positive note by using three aspects of literary devices: setting, symbolism and imagery. She uses setting to make the reader stray away from any negatives and start off the story on a positive note, symbolism to depict a positive scenery, and imagery in which she uses descriptive words or phrases for the reader to create mental images and distracts the reader from focusing on the main event of the story. In turn, the reader doesn’t anticipate the ending; resulting in a final effect of shock and horror towards the ending of the story.
Maslow’s Psychoanalytical perspective can be used to give an understanding of this part of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Maslow’s theory was developed and based on hierarchy of needs. Maslow wanted to know and understand what motivated people. His belief was that individuals are motivated to achieve certain needs (Feist & Feist, 2009). According to Maslow, Marilyn Monroe had some loving, belongingness needs and safety needs. Maslow believed that when people had their needs for love and belongingness in early years, they do not panic or feel devastated when they are rejected or denied of love. Whereas people who experienced love and belongingness in small doses, have stronger needs for affection and acceptance (Feist & Feist, 2009). This can be app...