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Influences of religion on culture and society
Influences of religion on culture and society
Religious elements in "The Lottery
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The practice of cultivating has been prominent in many civilizations and regions around the world. Individual groups would take to extreme measures to bring a good harvest season, including taking part in sacrifices. These sacrifices would start with a few individuals, but as hope faded and the crops delayed their arrival, more and more people were sacrificed, as can be seen in the Aztec civilization. Much like the Aztecs, Jackson’s villagers in “The Lottery” have an intrinsic need to perform such a ritual by stoning the victor of a lottery. By utilizing religious references and symbols through her characters, their symbolic meaning, and setting, Shirley Jackson conveys the major theme and overall meaning of the short story: the dangers of …show more content…
The day, at first glance, may seem random to the reader. However, upon further notice, it is evident that the date was capriciously chosen. Indeed, June 27th bisects the two weeks that contain the summer solstice on June 21st and Independence Day on July 4th. In Europe, Midsummer’s Day was celebrated on the summer solstice and is known to have several ancient Pagan customs and traditions, including gathering around a maypole and singing and dancing to raise fertility rites. The American Independence Day, on the other hand, represents democracy and, to a degree, justice. The date chosen by Jackson may embody the difference between superstitious and ancient rituals rooted in paganism to the symbolic meaning of democracy. This dynamic duo weaves into the central meaning of the story about the dangers of following tradition and restricting individual rights in sacrifices …show more content…
The name itself can also be foreshadowing Tessie’s death towards the end of the story. In particular, Mrs. Delacroix is portrayed as a significant member of the family who is swept by the ignorance in following tradition. When Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late to the lottery, Mrs. Delacroix is seen as a lighthearted woman who laughs along with Mrs. Hutchinson about the incident. It is also Mrs. Delacroix, however, who throws a large stone in Mrs. Hutchinson’s direction in the end. She is also the only one who exchanges quiet remarks with Mrs. Graves, the silent wife of the somber and silent Mr. Graves. In retrospect, the two people with disturbing last names exchanging commentary may foreshadow Mrs. Delacroix’s horrifying attempt to throw a large stone at Tessie, someone the audience thinks is Mrs. Delacroix’s acquaintance. Mrs. Delacroix’s hypocrisy and ignorance of her actions depict exactly what blindly following tradition can cause individuals to do
Attention Getter: Shirley Jacksons, The Lottery, without a doubt expresses her thoughts regarding traditional rituals throughout her story. It opens the eyes of us readers to suitably organize and question some of the today's traditions as malicious and it allows foretelling the conclusion of these odd traditions. The Lottery is a short story that records the annual sacrifice ceremony of an unreal small town. It is a comprehensive story of the selection of the person to be sacrificed, a procedure known to the villagers as the lottery. This selection is enormously rich in symbolism.
“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (142), the well-known quote by Old Man Warner that is familiar to Shirley Jackson’s readers is an expression that has a lot of value in the short story, “The Lottery.” This story’s title does not exactly mean what first comes to ones mind when thinking of the word “lottery”, but as the story slowly unfolds it becomes more clear of what once seemed good natured turns out to be inhumane. We learn that winning the lottery in this story means to actually win death by stoning. A tradition that only makes the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson a loser that is given as a sacrifice for the unnamed and unearthly spirit. This awful wickedness of the ordinary towns people is visible; however, Tessie Hutchinson is the
“The lottery” is a short story that tells about the tradition in a village. Every year the people that live in the village all gather around to find out who will win the annual lottery. The winner of this lottery is forced to get stoned to death. The reason behind this tradition is the belief that stoning a citizen will bring heartier crops. This tradition is expected to happen for many years to come. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson introduces the basics of human nature. In this short story, there are many characters who show two sides of human nature
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
In 1948 the New Yorker Magazine published a short story written by Shirley Jackson entitled “The Lottery.” This story begins June 27th, a clear and sunny day at ten o’clock in the morning. Clear and sunny could be indicative of a happy cheerful story; however, as this story progresses there are no discoveries of a happy ending at all. “The Lottery” is a tale of a horrible death, in which a small farming society considered to be a necessary sacrifice for the good of their crops. Tessie Hutchinson was stoned to death without remorse, because she was the “winner” of the town’s lottery. In “The Lottery” Jackson uses an interesting and unique approach to demonstrate the attributes of a male dominated society; as well as weave in religious symbolism along with the ultimate sacrifice of life.
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
Everyone has their own way of solving problems; however, ritual is a form that people doing one thing in the same way. It defines as “the prescribed form of conducting a formal secular ceremony.” However if the meaning of ritual is mistaken, the consequence could be unpredictable." The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson gives us a lecture about a tortuous ritual. The story takes place in a small village with 300 citizens, they gather for a yearly lottery which everyone should participate. The story leads to a horrific ending by people forgetting the concept of ritual.
The short story “ The Lottery ” the author Shirley Jackson uses symbolism and imagery to develop a theme the brings forth the evil and inhumane nature of tradition and the danger of when it’s carried out with ignorance.
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", is a story that is very colorful with symbolism and underlying themes. Centrally, there is a heavy emphasis on following blind traditions no matter what the consequences are, and Utopia and perfect society seem to be the goal of the community where the story is set. Harold Bloom argues that Jackson Hit a universal nerve and suggests that the shock effect achieved by Jason "depends upon tapping into the universal fear of arbitrary condemnation and of sanctioned violence (Bloom, 9). In response to readers being upset, Jackson responded that "she wanted to graphically dramatize the 'pointless violence' in people's lives to reveal the general inhumanity to man (Friedman, 64). "The Lottery", is about blind obedience
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about an annual lottery draw in a small town. The story sets place in a small town in New England. Every year a lottery is held, in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Jackson uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the lottery.
Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" symbols are used to enhance and stress the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can be exhibited in people in situations regarding tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just for the sake of keeping a routine. Three of the main symbols that Shirley uses in the story is the setting, black box, and the actual characters names. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the basis of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the culture of the village, and the culture of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage to not only a community, but the entire world. Symbolism plays a large role in "The Lottery" to set the theme of the story and make the reader question traditions.
Winning vast amounts of money can make anyone slaphappy, but unfortunately this type of wager won’t be discussed in Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery.” Jackson catches the reader’s attention by describing a typical day by using words such as “blossoming, clear and sunny skies” to attract the reader into believing a calm and hopeful setting which eventually turns dark. In this short story Jackson tells a tale of a sinister and malevolent town in America that conforms to the treacherous acts of murder in order to keep their annual harvest tradition alive. Jackson exposes the monstrosity of people within this society in this chilling tale. She allows the reader’s to ponder and lead them to believe that the lottery is actually a good thing; till she implements foreshadowing, to hint at the dreadfulness behind the lottery and its meaning. My goal in this paper is to discuss why Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a portrayed as a horror story, and the importance the townspeople used to glorify ritualistic killings, to appease to an unseeable force in return of good harvest for the upcoming year.
Would you believe that there was once a village where everyone would partake in a terrible event, but think it was innocent because of how they blindly followed a tradition? The short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson communicates this theme by showing how the villagers participate in a lottery every year. In life, there are people who follow tradition because the have to, or they are used to following without question. The author, Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. In 1937, Shirley Jackson attended Syracuse University where she began to write short stories. She was famous for the short story, “The Lottery,” and her best seller novel, “The Haunting of Hill House”. Shirley Jackson was famous for writing in a supernatural genre. Later on, she married a Jewish man and moved into a conservative neighborhood. She died on December 14, 1916 in North Bennington, Vermont. “The Lottery” is a profoundly ironic story where the winners really lose. The village has its own unique lottery. The winner of the game has a card with a black dot. This means the surrounding villager will stone them to death! Shirley Jackson develops her theme of the danger of blindly following tradition in her short story, "The Lottery" through the use of symbolism, mood, and irony.