You would never think that happiness can be good and bad at the same time, In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses imagery to support this idea.
Plot “The Lottery” is a story of a small “village” and their traditions. Known as “The Lottery” they been doing “The Lottery” for centuries. In this story they go into details about how long this goes around. They also give hints to why they might do this. The story starts with the children assembly first before anybody else. Shortly after the kids go and look for the smoothest and roundest stones. To use on the person/family who wins if they don’t win. Later on in the story they find out Tessie wins. As Tessie is not excited about it as she knows what is going to happen. She runs into a wide open space with knowing what is going to happen. As she freezes up not knowing what to do. As people start to close in on her as she is screaming “this is not fair”. As rocks fly everywhere Tessie gets hit in the head. Causing her to black out because of the hard hit. As summers is saying “come one guys come on”. As they do not stop.
…show more content…
You can just imagine being their when they find out who “won”. You can picture Terrie screaming as the crowd takes her away “this is not fair”. Shirley Jackson does an amazing job of put images in your head of what is going on in the short story. She uses very specific details that put images in your head. One of the times she uses imagery is when the kids pick out smooth rocks. You can imagine the kids looking around and different rocks picking just the perfect sizes. The way she describes this event makes you picture the kids knowing what rocks to pick from experience. Another time she uses imagery is when the crowd is taking Terrie away. It puts a image of a small like crowd all running at her at once sweeping her off her own two
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.
In almost every story, one can find symbolism throughout the text to help the reader better understand what the writer wants the reader to takeout from his/her story. Symbolism is something that must be analyzed and explored to experience a deeper meaning to the story. Sometimes, symbolism throughout a story may not be noticeable when first read, but going back to analyze the text can add a deeper meaning to words and can also help to enhance the meaning behind the story line. In some instances, symbolism can leave a reader to ponder what the writer is trying to express with the symbolism used in the story; for symbolism can be interpreted differently and can have many layers of meaning to it. Some good examples of short stories that use symbolism to extend the meaning behind the story line are “The Lottery,” “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” and “The Jury of Her Peers”.
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.
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.
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
In conclusion, the use of symbolism, irony and setting in the Lottery is very evident, the author indirectly implicates the true darkness within the human heart. The Lottery remains relevant in society today because the overall vagueness of the city allows this story to be true to all people around the world. The short story shows us that humans are evil enough to follow traditions blindly, even if they cause pain and death in loved ones we know. Jackson also centers a lot of symbols and irony on religion and how they affect our culture and decisions. In this the reader can learn that sometimes it’s better for a person to follow his moral compass, and not just blindly follow his evil heart, and the evilness of others.
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”.
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.
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 particular, Jackson’s characterization of Tessie forces the reader to feel attached and sympathetic when Tessie is selected to take part in the lottery. The setting of the story gives off an eerie mood because the readers can easily picture the story taking place in their own town. While most of the story is traumatic to the reader, Jackson is hinting at a larger picture. Jackson uses “The Lottery” as a way of warning readers of the dangers of following the crowd.
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.
Immediately, the women of “The Lottery” seem to be a friendly group who stick by one another’s sides. However, as the plot uncovers, the reader discovers that each woman would easily choose tradition over friendship. The traits of the women include endorsement of the “dominant culture” (Hattenhauer, 45), value of tradition, and belief in fairness. As the lottery transpires, the women advise Tess to “be a good sport” (Jackson, 140) because they all “took the same chance” (Jackson, 140). This simple encounter provides evidence that the women of “The Lottery” would undoubtedly lose a friendship to preserve the morals of tradition. When Tess finally reveals the paper with the mark on it, Mr. Summers is quick to begin the final step in the Lottery. The women oblige, and are even quicker to grab a stone from the children’s pile. One woman even orders another to “hurry up” (Jackson, 141) before picking up a “stone so large” (Jackson, 141) it required the use of both hands. “The Lottery” ends with the town’s people stoning Tess to death. Among the killers are the women that Tess once called friends.
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
“Bill, Jr.,” Mr. Summers said, and Billy, his face red and his feet overlarge, near knocked the box over as he got a paper out. (5) The author visually described the facial expression of Bill Jr.in the quote. In the beginning Shirley Jackson stated that it was clear and sunny.” (1) The setting of the story was an example of imagery also. It brought about clear contrast to the deadly end of the story where Tessie is stored by the other villagers. Imagery was shown through the traditional black box of the village to. “The black box grew shabbier each year by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained”. (2) Shabbier, and splintered simplify that the box was in bad condition and had lack of care. Jackson use of imagery gives the readers a clear description of reactions that happened throughout the story.
The ability of the story to create suspense lies in the fact that the narrator never reveals what the characters are thinking. Therefore, the reader begins to wonder why the lottery box is black, and why the villagers seem to be afraid of it even when they seem excited about the occasion. The mention of chants and other forgotten rituals that had accompanied past lotteries further mystifies the event, but then Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late at the town hall with her lighthearted jokes, the scene again appears to be an ordinary lottery drawing. As the drawing begins, the villagers are suddenly "quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around" (NA, 784). The reader is left to interpret the somber atmosphere; humorless grins of the townspeople reveal little about the source of their nervousness, even though something seems amiss. The suspense quickly builds and the scene becomes ominous as Mrs. Hutchinson cheerful countenance suddenly gives way to anxiety when her husband draws the winning slip. The narrator's perspective reveals only enough to allow the tension to build until the reader finally comes to the shocking realization that the lottery is actually a ritualistic murder.