Literary Analysis Essay On The Lottery

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Literary Analysis of “The Lottery”
In the small town known as Bennington, Vermont, tradition is everything. Readers can infer that the author uses allegory to mirror the draft of World War II. Bill Hutchinson and his family are forced to participate in the annual game of chance that will be spectated by the entire town. When his wife, Tessie, “wins” the drawing, the reader is left to analyze whether the game is truly fair or not. “ The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story brimming with literary elements such as imagery, foreshadowing, and irony that teaches the reader about conformity and the long-term effects of old traditions.
The first example of imagery used in the story can be found in the opening sentence of the first paragraph. The author describes the setting as a normal, warm and happy day in a civilized town. “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, 261.) The author then continues to describe how everyone gathers together in the town square. The children play while the adults huddle and gossip. The author is painting the perfect …show more content…

When Bill draws the winning ticket, Tessie says that he did not have enough time to pick the one he truly wanted. “”You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair.””(p.266, line 40) She then exclaims that her daughters should be added into the drawing even though they were already set to draw with their husbands. “”There’s Don and Eva.””, “”Make them take their chance!”” In the ending, Tessie is ultimately the “winner” of the drawing. Her fate is to be stoned to death as a sacrifice for the crops. It is ironic that if someone else would have had this same fate, Tessie would probably have gone with the crowd and would not have thought twice about

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