Would you stone your best friend to death? Shirley Jackson created a gut wrenching short story called “The Lottery”. The Lottery is a barbaric ritual not a drawing for money. This gut wrenching ritual takes place on June 27th each year, the townspeople assemble to risk the possibility of being stoned to death.
To begin with, were the villagers enthusiastic about this sacrifice? In the lottery the villagers seemed exhausted and wanted to rush through the ritual. In the lottery it says “Well now” Mr.Summers said “guess we better get started, get this thing over with, so’s we can go back to work.” The villages acted as if it was normal to stone people to death. The people acted as if this was a daily thing to do but they were not happy or excited about it they were calm and normal.
Also, in the lottery Bill Hutchinson tells his wife to shut up in front of everyone, why would he do something that disrespectful? In the 1940’s the men of the household thought that they could treat women and children however they wanted. When Bill told Tessie to shut up in front of the whole town it was embarrassing her making her look like she had to do whatever Bill wanted her to do. Bill Hutchinson told Tessie to shut up because he thought he had some kind of entitlement.
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All the townspeople knew that one of them were going to be killed but if they knew the risks they were taking then why would do the lottery? It was unfair because even though the villagers thought it was right to kill innocent people they didn't fully understand what the lottery was or what it meant. The townspeople was raised to believe in the lottery. People should be able to choose what they believe in and not have their parents telling them that they have to believe in something or else something terrible will happen. If the lottery was a choice then most or all of the townspeople would chose not to do
Shirley Jackson describes the lottery being an annual event where someone gets randomly drawn to win the prize of getting stoned to death, Tradition which no one has ever questioned its purpose or opposed to it. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 7). People in “The Lottery” were so accustomed to the tradition that no kind of emotion or feeling was shown at the time of stoning, no matter if it was a family member or a close friend. Their blind acceptance to the lottery made murder become natural that time of the
“The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.
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.
The seemingly normal village is using a lottery system to pick a human for sacrifice that is executed by the villagers themselves. In one analysis it is thought that, “In a sense, the villagers of “The Lottery” are paying homage to sympathetic magic: One human sacrifice equals another good year of crops.” (Ball 1). It appears that this is why they are continuing the tradition of yearly human sacrifice around the time of harvest or summer solstice. This horrific event is amplified by the characters attitudes, environment, and outward normality. In another analysis, it states, “Nevertheless, the characters seem so wholesome, so stereotypically small-town American, that it is easy for the reader to overlook the clues that Jackson provides.” (Du Bose, 1). The slaughter of a fellow villager has become such a mindless habit to the villagers that they don’t question the reasons or morality of the lottery. The village is almost desensitized from violence and appears that they are unable to make their own conclusions about morality or human nature. In Patrick J. Shield’s article, he analyzes the characters and states, “They do not question the authority and tradition of these executions that has convinced them that what they are doing is somehow in their best interest”
Written by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” is a short story about a town that hosts an annual lottery that decides which person is stoned by the rest of the town. Jackson slowly and subtly builds the suspense throughout the story, only resolving the mystery surrounding the lottery at the very last moment, as the townspeople surround Tessie with their stones. The symbolism utilized helps demonstrate the overall significance of the story, such as the lottery itself. The lottery shows the way people desperately cling to old traditions, regardless of how damaging they may be. In addition, it can show how callous many will act while staring at a gruesome situation, until they become the victims. Jackson’s story presents the issue regarding the habit
Screaming, yelling, and screeching emerge from Tessi Hutchinson, but the town remains hushed as they continue to cast their stones. Reasonably Tessi appears as the victim, but the definite victim is the town. This town, populated by rational people, stones an innocent woman because of a lottery. To make matters worse, no one in the town fathoms why they exterminate a guiltless citizen every June. The town’s inexplicable behavior derives from following an ancient, ludicrous tradition. With the omission of one man, no one in the community comprehends the tradition. In the case of “The Lottery,” the town slays an irreproachable victim each year because of a ritual. Shirley Jackson exposes the dangers of aimlessly following a tradition in “The Lottery.” Jackson not only questions the problem, but through thorough evaluation she an deciphers the problem as well.
As soon as all the families had drawn, no one moved. Everyone just stood still waiting to see who got picked to be in the final drawing. "Then the voices began to say, `It's Hutchinson. It's Bill,' `Bill Hutchinson got it (The Lottery, pg. 5)." From a readers point of view this would be the greatest thing that could have ever happened to them, but not in this case. Moving forward in the story, Mrs. Hutchinson is found yelling, "It wasn't fair!" and "You didn't give him time to choose any paper he wanted (The Lottery, pg. 5)." People in the crowd were telling her to "be a good sport. All of us took the same chance (The Lottery, pg. 5)." Mrs. Hutchinson did not like the responses at all. She even demanded that her married daughter draw in the final round with them. This was only to lessen her chances of getting picked in the end.
In “The Lottery”, Jackson wrote about a special tradition of a small village. June 27th was warm and sunny, and it gave the impression like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone knows the lottery as an exciting thing, and everybody wants to win, but this lottery is unlike any other. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning of an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. Though the horrific ending was not expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was not an average lottery. Jackson foreshadowed the death of Tessie Hutchinson with stones, the black box, and the three legged stool; she showed that unquestioning support of tradition can be fatal.
Every year, the lottery is held, and every year a person is killed. Each villager neglects to acknowledge the unjustness of the lottery and continue to participate because of the tradition it represents in their society. The lottery was a cultural tradition passed down from the very first settlers of the village. It makes up a huge part of the village’s history and culture. The villagers pay recognition to their culture by continuing the tradition of the lottery even though the lottery is not morally right. On page 93 it states, “There was a proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year… There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came to draw from the box…” This quote shows the tribal-like rituals and traditions associated with the lottery. Through the years, some of the rituals of the lottery were lost, but the main elements of the lottery remained the same. The idea behind the lottery was that the ancestors, of the villagers, believed that human sacrifice would bring in good harvest. This led to the development and continuation
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.
Set in 1948 and published in The New Yorker, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson describes a village ritual of sacrifice. Contrary to the positive feeling associated with the word “lottery,” the story strikes fear into the readers’ hearts as the winner is stoned to death. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” uses symbolism and genre conventions of a classic dystopian story to show the different ways in which human cruelty can occur.
The townspeople seem to have mixed emotions about the lottery; they fear it yet on a very barbaric level they enjoy it. By standing "away from the pile of stones," and keeping their distance from the black box, the villagers show their fear of the lottery (Jackson 863). However, once they find out who is going to be stoned, Tessie Hutchinson, they seem to actually enjoy the stoning. One villager picks up a stone so big she can barely carry it; someone even gives Tessie’s youngest son a few pebbles to throw at his mother. Their overall attitude about the stoning is summed up by the phrase "and then they were...
The story of “The Lottery” is a dark tale that gives the reader a window into a community blighted by an tradition propagated by ignorance; sending a message that reverberates with many events, ideas, and observations throughout the annals of time. Written by the great Shirley Jackson, this fable exemplifies how delusion and illogical thinking led to the terrifying and morose ending of Tessie Hutchinson's existence. Shirley Jackson was well known in her lifetime, but not necessarily as the literary master she is hailed as today. Jackson had great interest in the culture of witchcraft, and deeply incorporated this knowledge into one of her first short stories: “The Lottery.” While this influence greatly improved the haunted tone of the story, it also spawned various rumors regarding Shirley Jackson herself, being a reclusive bookish woman interested in the dark arts. However, just as the “witches” of Salem were mercilessly murdered for ambiguous reasons, so too was Tessie Hutchinson. Shirley Jackson saw the reflection of these poor souls within our very lives, and channeled their sorrowful essence into a meticulous story that is as moving as it is disturbing.
Summer and thought it was unfair. Which showed that unless affected personally, certain injustices might not be an issue for individuals. When Bill got picked, “People began to look around to see the Hutchinson’s. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you; it wasn’t fair!” (435) Apparently, Tessie only cared and tried to protect her family as soon as her family was picked for the lottery, and one of the family members had the chance to get killed. But if it wasn’t her family who got chosen, she might not care about it at all. Which shows her selfishness when it comes to her
In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson we are told of a small village of about 300 and the event that takes place on June 27th of every year. All members of the community are required to participate in this lottery every year. At the beginning of the lottery, the husband or eldest male of each family draws a small slip of paper from the black box. In this instance, Bill Hutchinson gets the one slip with a black spot. This means each Hutchinson family member has to draw a slip to determine who gets stoned. Bill's wife Tessie gets the marked slip. In keeping with tradition, each villager obtains a stone and begins to surround Tessie. The story ends with Tessie being stoned to death while she bemoans the unfairness of the situation.