Sometimes when reading a story, suddenly a shock appears. The shock usually is created in stories that seem to be normal but then take a turn in a different direction. In many forms of literature authors set up the story without ever letting the readers know that in the end of the story something completely different will happen. Authors create a shock value to make the story more interesting and to keep the audience wondering what will happen next and why something did occur. In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' Connor, both authors use different literary techniques to create a shock value that gets the theme of their stories across to the audience. In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, Jackson uses setting and point of view to create a shock value that gets the theme of blindly following tradition across to the audience. Jackson introduces the setting of the story as a harmless, quaint, and little village on a nice summer day. Jackson writes, "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day..."(263). She describes a setting which conveys a happy mood. The positive description of the setting leads the audience to believe that the lottery that will take place will be completely opposite than what it really is. Jackson also describes the setting as being a small village. The population of the small village is key to the theme of following tradition. Tradition is key in small towns and villages. Traditions are what keep villages linked together. Jackson however uses the setting of the small village to poke fun of the way the characters in her story follow their own tradition. Tradition for the characters in this village is something they have be... ... middle of paper ... ... in life"(430), meaning killing has stopped bringing him happiness. O' Connors description of the grandmother and the Misfit creates a shock to the audience when both character become recipients of grace. O' Connor and Jackson both use different literary techniques in their stories to create a shock value that gets the theme of both of their stories across. The shock that is created in both stories really is a shock to the audience since the way the stories are set up, it is not expected. The audience did not expect the lottery in Jackson's story to be an event that stones humans. The audience did not expect both the grandmother and the Misfit to receive grace since both of their actions and personalities have been so cruel. Both authors create a shock because it not only helps relay the them but it also leaves the audience intrigued and wondering why in the end.
In Shirley Jackson’s short story the Lottery and Flannery O’Conner’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, there are a few aspects of a similar nature that attempt to tackle the nature essence of the human condition. Both short stories respectively portray two similar types of foreshadowing where one is random the other is premeditated, which leads these stories to their very surprising dramatic climax that is held until the end of each story. I believe that these important variables of both stories have a strong influence on the reader’s objectification regarding the way each story presents the idea of the human condition.
While humor wasn’t what made her famous, but it allows her readers to witness another side to her writing. Opposite to her humorous family stories, her accomplishments and legacy of subtle horror and psychological suspense continue to seep into modern stories, movies, and media. While her themes have long been expressed through literature, she brought a new perspective to horror, especially through “The Lottery”, which was as famous as it was controversial. The use of subtle shock, unimaginable twists, and an incomplete ending allowed her to provoke a severe reaction from her readers. Despite the criticisms and questionable popularity of her works during her lifetime, we can appreciate Shirley Jackson’s additions of psychological suspense and the faults of human nature to the horror
In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, tradition is seen as very high and something to be respected not to be messed with. Although, the lottery has been removed from other towns, the village where the story is set in still continues to participate in the lottery. It is almost as if the other towns realized the lack of humanity in the tradition. However, the village still continues with the lottery even though the majority of the ritual has been lost or changed. The oldest man in the village complains about how the lottery is not what it used to be. There are hidden messages in “The Lottery” that reflects today’s society that the author wants to make apparent and change, such as, the danger of blindly following without any knowledge, the randomness
Have you ever read the story of a princess kissing a frog, having it turn into a prince? Well, what if it didn’t become a prince, but she turned into a frog herself! This is called irony, something we would not expect to happen. In the story of the princess we would not expect that to happen. In the story “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, we see this situation in another form. She uses irony to bring out the point in her story. “The Lottery,” offers an “ironic twist of fate” that causes wonder and makes one sympathize with the characters.
Shirley Jackson takes great care in creating a setting for the story, The Lottery. She gives the reader a sense of comfort and stability from the very beginning. It begins, "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The setting throughout The Lottery creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquility, while portraying a typical town on a normal summer day.
Many people consider “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson one of the best stories of the twentieth century. It is a compelling story that raises many questions and uses symbolism and metaphors to get its point across. Elton Gahr goes into great detail of these literary devices in his article “A Careful Look at The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.” Gahr begins by explaining foreshadowing. He explains that Jackson begins foreshadowing as early as the second paragraph. These details are key to the stories ending and “Most readers will miss the significance of those actions because they don’t understand them, but it makes the end of the story a realization rather than a surprise.” Gahr then goes into the themes of the story. One of the biggest themes being
Jackson rarely ends her stories with a resolution of the plot; instead, a dramatic incident or revelation serves to illustrate the irony she sees in the world. In her most famous short story, "The Lottery," Jackson takes pains to describe a village of hard-working, upstanding Americans.
In the movie version of “The Lottery,” the director chose not to emphasize the beauty of the day the lottery was held with his set or the comfortable nature of the people attending it. This dulled the effect of the ending, but it made the viewer more suspicious and uncomfortable through the movie. The director’s choice to make Mr. Summers a serious character instead of the “round faced, jovial man” in the text served to cause suspense to creep into the story but sacrificing the atmosphere created by his overly happy attitude. In the movie, the costumes of the characters were familiar and normal, which made their behavior more disconcerting. More changes from the short story occurred as the children were repeatedly shown gathering rocks. The movie adaptation turned it into a more significant event than Jackson, causing an ominous feeling in the viewer.
In the story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the author uses certain details, that in the end, add to the horror. One detail Jackson includes is the actions of the kids in the beginning. “Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix… eventually made a great pile of stones in the corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.” depicts Jackson (1). This can be seen as adding to the terror of the end of the story because the kids seem to be treating the events to come as a game, even though the “game” may consist of them stoning their own parents or friends. Another detail in the story that leads to an even more frightening ending can be found within this quote, “Alright folks” Mr. Summers says “Let’s finish quickly”
The works of Shirley Jackson tend to the macabre because she typically unveils the hidden side of human nature in her short stories and novels. She typically explores the darker side of human nature. Her themes are wide-ranging and border on the surreal though they usually portray everyday, ordinary people. Her endings are often not a resolution but rather a question pertaining to society and individuality that the reader must ask himself or herself. Jackson's normal characters often are in possession of an abnormal psyche. Children are portrayed as blank slates ready to learn the ways of the world from society. However, adults have a hidden side already formed and lurking beneath the perceived normality of the established social order. We see this best in Jackson's most famous short story, The Lottery. Jackson's uses many elements of fiction to demonstrate how human nature can become desensitized to the point of mob murder of a member of their own community. One of the ways she does this is through character. While the shocking reason behind the lottery and the gruesome prize for its winner are not received until the ending, the characters come back to haunt us for their desensitized behavior earlier in the story. For example, the children in the beginning of the story innocently gather stones as normal children might, yet their relish in doing so becomes macabre once we find out the purpose for which that are collecting them "Bobby Martin hard already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroy...eventually made a great pile of stones in one ...
The setting in the beginning of The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, creates a mood of peacefulness and tranquillity. The image portrayed by the author is that of a typical town on a normal summer day. Shirley Jackson uses this setting to foreshadow an ironic ending.
Over the years many critics have wrote articles on Shirley Jackson's numerous works. Many critics had much to say about Jackson's most famous short story, "The Lottery". Her insights and observations about man and society are disturbing; and in the case of "The Lottery," they are shocking. "The themes themselves are not new, evil cloaked in seeming good, prejudice and hypocrisy, loneliness and frustration, psychological studies of minds that have slipped the bonds of reality" (Friedman). Literary critic, Elizabeth Janeway wrote that, " 'The Lottery' makes its effect without having to state a moral about humanity's need to deflect the knowledge of its own death on a victim. That uneasy consciousness is waked in the reader himself by the impact of the story. Miss Jackson's great gift is not to create a world of fantasy and terror, but rather to discover the existence of the grotesque in the ordinary world. (Janeway).
In conclusion, Shirley Jackson used many literary devices throughout the entire story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, irony, and imagery to appeal to readers that read this story. Other literary devices such as characterization were identified in this story but the three that were elaborated on were the ones that stood out. The emphasis on religious traditions and symbols make “The Lottery” one the darkest and most mysterious
Out of all the short stories that were assigned, it can be seen that they have all one thing in common. They all show the realms of violence each of them different. The story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story where violence is shown in the most barbarous way possible. But with it, the author wants us to understand that violence is abhorrent and “The Lottery” shows that violent behavior can even corrupt the most innocent minds.
actually consists of in this short story. At the onset of the story, Jackson uses the peaceful setting to confuse the reader as to the violent event that occurs. She continues to obscure what is actually going on in each character’s mind by writing in the third person with an objective view. The rising action that develops throughout the story continues to confuse the reader until which point the shocking ending is revealed. The unexpected harsh stoning of the winner in this short story is not what one expects when they begin to read “The Lottery”.