More handpicked essays just for you.
Literary devices in the lottery that hints at the theme
Symbolism of the lottery through characters
The lottery by shirley jackson three character analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Shirley Jackson utilizes a variety of small village characters as well as a couple significant objects to illustrate “The Lottery.” Without giving much detail Jackson keeps the reader’s attention and forecasts the conclusion of the story. The dramatic end to “The Lottery” is slightly depicted by the boys gathering stones, a couple of villager’s names, and Old Man Warner.
Jackson gives enough evidence to show that the stoning is going to happen but she doesn’t allow the reader to know this until the conclusion is revealed. As the children break into boisterous play, majority of the boys follow Bobby Martin’s example and begin to gather stones.
“Selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.” These boys were well aware of what was going to happen at the conclusion of
“The Lottery” and were preparing themselves for it while waiting for Mr. Summers to arrive at the village’s square.
…show more content…
Very cleverly Jackson utilizes the names of the villager’s to show what tragedy was going to happen that morning of June 27th. “The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.” At the arrival of Mr. Summers the villagers began to murmur amongst themselves while following Mr. Summers was the postmaster, Mr. Graves. Jackson elaborates this correlation of character names to illustrate the events that were to happen. When summer came to the village, “The Lottery” was conducted bringing death to one of the
Summers throughout the ordeal. The author goes so far as to use the word “cheerfully” as a latecomer makes her way into the crowd— “Mr. Summers… said cheerfully, ‘Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie.’” Mrs. Hutchinson, the late comer, responds jokingly, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe?” Small exchanges like this one suggest a collective acceptance among the town. The atmosphere of the story is symbolic to the effect that societies seem to be desensitized to the atrocities in world around them, be it abroad or even among their neighbors. This lottery strikes little fear in its participants regardless of their knowledge of the inevitable outcome. It’s the way of the world, so to speak; Just another civic activity. “The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween Program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.” Everyone seems to turn a blind eye to the brutality of the event, going about it as if were at all to be comparable to any other communal activity. Even the children participate without a second thought, playfully collecting stones among themselves in the beginning of the
The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a wonderful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults ?stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather then laughed."(268) This, in just the third paragraph, is a indication through symbolism of the townsfolk?s sober mood that something was amiss. The setting for the lottery also takes place in the same place as the square dances, the teen-age club, and the Halloween program.(268) This unifies our lives with those of the story sense we can relate to those types of events, and is symbolic in showing that even though this dastardly deed happens here that it is still the main place of celebration. Showing how easy it is for us, as human beings, to clean our conscientious by going back to a place that, on June 27, is a place of death and make it a place of delight.
Shirley Jackson explains the setting, “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). This sets a pleasant theme for the beginning of the story. Villagers converse and gather at the town square like it is part of their daily routine. Children gathered stones as if they were playing a game. Mr. Summers runs the drawing of the lottery. Tessie is the unlucky person, she draw the piece of paper with a black dot on it. The children and other adults pick up the stones and continued to stone Tessie. This story misleads readers into thinking the townspeople are gathered to draw for a lottery receiving money or some reward. Instead, the winner is stoned to death. Why did this just happen? As a reader you never figure out why. Readers could infer different situations. Is it a public offering to some deity or person? Old man Werner explains the significance of the lottery, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon. First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery” (Jackson). Old Man Werner gives light to the meaning of the lottery, he believes that the lottery helps the growth of crops. The lottery seems to be a tradition, and done annually in June. This act of public execution shows us
“The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, is a provoking piece of literature about a town that continues a tradition of stoning, despite not know why the ritual started in the first place. As Jackson sets the scene, the villagers seem ordinary; but seeing that winning the lottery is fatal, the villagers are then viewed as murders by the reader. Disagreeing with the results of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson is exposed to an external conflict between herself and the town. Annually on June 27th, the villagers gather to participate in the lottery. Every head of household, archetypally male, draws for the fate of their family, but Tessie protests as she receives her prize of a stoning after winning the lottery. Jackson uses different symbols – symbolic characters, symbolic acts, and allegories – to develop a central theme: the
At the beginning of “The Lottery”, Jackson is very specific in describing the setting of her story; she says, "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day" (250). The imagery of this sentence alludes to a fresh start or a welcoming environment, this misconception is used to give the reader a sense of normality, which later is discovered to be an end rather than a beginning due to the lottery’s essential meaning, the stoning of an innocent.
On the morning of June 27 of a recent year, the 300 villagers of an American village prepare for the annual lottery in a mood of excitement. The horrible tradition of the lottery is so old that some of its ritual has been forgotten and some has been changed. Its basic purpose is entirely unremembered, but residents are present to take part in it. The children in the village created a “great pile of stones” in one corner of the stoning square. The civic-minded Mr. Summers has been sworn in and then he hands a piece of paper to the head of each family. When it is discovered the Hutchinson family has drawn the marked slip, each member of the family Bill, Tessie, and the children is given another slip. Silence prevails as suspense hovers over the proceedings. After helplessly protesting the unfairness of the first drawing, Tessie finds that she holds the marked slip.
In the plot, Jackson foreshadows the horror which is due to come. The children are taught from a young age about the process which takes place for the death of a person, they prepare for this event by collecting “a great pile of stones” which is used later on in the persecution of Mrs. Hutchinson (1 Jackson). This illustrates that children have been indoctrinated to think that the death of a human is unimportant, and considered normal. They look at this event as a game instead of a serious
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
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.
“Summers” (Jackson, 4) is the sir name of the conductor of the Lottery. The lottery happens during summer, and Mr. Summer’s assistant is “Mr. Graves” (Jackson. 4). This hints that there will be a “Grave” during “summer”. The author uses names to augur the winner’s prize: a violent stoning from the townspeople.
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.
"The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice. The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens. On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate. Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice. Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about. Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective use of foreshadowing through the depiction of characters and setting. Effective foreshadowing builds anticipation for the climax and ultimately the main theme of the story - the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and cruelty.
The characters in a short story are vital to understanding everything that the author has put into her work. Most of Shirley Jackson’s characters in “The Lottery” adapt as the story goes on, revealing their true opinions and behaviors. Her characters are also true to life, which establishes realism in her stories. Tess, Old Man Warner, and the women of this story all provide outlooks and opinions that shape “The Lottery” into the constructive story it is.
When the story first opens up, the introductory scene that opens the story up includes children gathering stones and running to the destination where the lottery takes place. According to Linda Wagner-Martin’s journal, “The Lottery by Shirley Jackson”, she explains that the children running around provides a calm and peaceful vibe to the story. She also explains that bringing the children into the description creates a poignancy not only for the death of Tessie, the mother, but for the sympathy the crowd gives to her youngest son, Dave. She explains that it’s family members, women and children, and fellow residents that are being murdered through this ritual. The author additionally attempts to throw the reader off at first by creating a beautiful image of a town where the “flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” which gives an innocent feel to the town; but, the story actually ends with an egregious ending. One of the children, Martin, “stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the younger boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.” The reason behind the younger children picking up the smoothest stones was because it would allow the person that’s being stoned a slow death due to their soft edges. With this, Jackson indicates that the children define this murderous and unethical event as ethical because they help their elders murder someone
Even though the story took place in the United States, where democracy is the primary form of government, the villagers in “The Lottery” are forced to join and follow the tradition. As a wealthy coal business owner and the official of the lottery, Mr. Summer is the authority figure in the village. He has the power to command and manipulate the villagers by exploiting their desire to preserve the lottery tradition. Jackson explicitly reveals that Mrs. Hutchinson’s lottery paper “[has] a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summer [has] made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office” (Jackson 7). Since Mr. Summer is the government official of the lottery, he is able to mark the winning lottery paper to avoid picking it himself; therefore, eliminating his chance of becoming the winner. This passage demonstrates the dictatorship and corruption of Mr. Summer. The passage is also consistent with the characteristics of dystopian literature. The villagers are not only controlled by the tradition, but their lives are also in the hands of a corrupted official. Mr. Summer is trusted and seen as a leader by many villagers because he “[has] time and energy to devote to civic activities” and can provide employments due to owning a coal business (Jackson 1). Being a leader, Mr. Summer is expected to be honest, kind and selfless; however, he is cruel and manipulative according to his