This essay is on Mr. Summers from the story “The Lottery.” He seemed like an important character in this short story. ”The Lottery” was about a yearly drawing where a single person gets stoned. “He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him.” Mr. Summers is characterized as contemptuous, judgemental, and admonitory.
Mr. Summers is disrespectful and rude to the Dunbar family for something they can't control, therefore he is contemptuous. The Lottery states, "Don't you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?" Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally. Mr. Summers waited with an expression of polite interest while Mrs. Dunbar answered.” This shows that he is contemptuous by showing that he would rather humiliate the Dunbar family by asking them this personal question that he already knew the answer to.
He was judging the Hutcherson family after they had been chosen. As is claimed by The Lottery, "Well, everyone," Mr. Summers said, "that was done pretty fast, and now we've got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time." He consulted his
…show more content…
Summers demands that the family only takes one paper and they don't open it right when they get it. The text says, "Remember," Mr. Summers said. "take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry, you help little Dave." Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. "Take a paper out of the box, Davy." Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed. "Take just one paper." Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you hold it for him." Mr. Graves took the child's hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly.” This excerpt shows that Mr. Summers is Admonitory by having him sound bossy and
This statement reveals that the lottery is a tradition in town that they characters were born into believing in. None of the characters have lived a life where the lottery did not exist, thus this occasion is a normality to them. Summers had spoke frequently to the town about making a new box, “But no one liked to upset as much tradition as was represented by the black box. […] Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about the new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything being done” (Jackson 1). This paragraph in the text reiterates the town’s inability to stray away from the ritual of their
“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
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
In doing so, the human species is able to remain at the top of the food chain, eliminating any deviation that could arise otherwise. The author illustrates this through a conversation exchanged between Mr. Adams and Old Man Warner, which discusses the other villages stopping the process of the lottery. This aggravates Old Man Warner as he goes off on a tangent about life before the lottery, how it saved them from a life of limits and poverty (Jackson 4). The Old man is a symbol of the lottery to the town; the eldest and wisest person around, who wholeheartedly devoted himself to this cause. He knows what the lottery has done for society first hand and has the better judgment of the two through age and experience. In the same way that the elderly man promotes the lottery, he is also a reminder that there is no room for questions and curiosity during this time period, as they lead to uncovering pain. Within the text the two discuss, “some places have already quit lotteries […] nothing but trouble in that. Pack of young fools” (Jackson 4). Mr. Adams was shut down immediately, as Warner correlates his age and being naïve as the explanation of how ignorant and ungrateful people are. The towns’ people do not know what life could be like without the lottery, however because someone is telling them that
Jackson’s story presents the issue regarding the habit of turning a blind eye to another’s horrid treatment, if not for anything but for the sake of ritualistic tradition. Mrs. Hutchinson ran into the event late, laughing that she had “[c]lean forgotten what day it was” (Jackson 292). After that, Mr. Summers, the officiator of the lottery, calls out names of the people who are unable to attend the lottery, and asks for the person who will be drawing for them. There were two people missing, Clyde Dunbar, who had broken his leg, and the Watson’s mother. Dunbar’s wife was drawing for him, and it seemed that she was unhappy that she was the one handed this task.
When each person walks up for their ticket, many comments are made about how hastily all of them returned to the crowd. Mrs. Delacroix is said to “hold her breath” when her husband drew his card. Before even finding out what the purpose of the lottery is, no one seems to want to be involved in the process. Once, when Mr. Summers asked for help with the box, there was hesitation before only two people stepped forward. Also, before Mr. Summers was there, it seemed to be more of a day off, everyone was talking and the kids were playing. Once Mr. Summers got there everything went silent and became
Mr. Summers ran the lottery because he does things for the village. A black box is brought out in front of everyone. Mr. Summers mixes up the slips of paper in the box. Then he calls everyone’s name in town. After he finishes calling names, everyone in town opens their papers.
The Lottery had an unforgettable turn of events to how it leads up to it’s tragic ending. It’s often put to thought why did, this town follows the traditional acts of violence. Fritz Oehlschlaeger informs how this society’s conflicts is between male authority and female resistance. For example. Mr. Summers and his wife represent the male’s superior and female submission in the community. Mr. Summers was given his head position by not having any children the people feel sympathy.But, however his wife “was a scold” (pg.256). Demonstrating that a woman is described a “scold” rather the male is treated with special rights. Jackson also strongly connects on how Tessie can relate to Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne (Scarlet Letter ). How each woman's situation ,they are marked as women trying to show their beliefs in a strong male control territory and they are trying to be contained. The Lottery was a male dominated system, and was reinforced to control the women . Girls would stay aside awhile, the
The oldest resident of that town Old Man Warner called the residents of those town’s residents a "Pack of crazy fools,”(Jackson 4). It seems that none of the people know what the purpose of this lottery is because it was created a long time ago but Old Man Warner claims that with the “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,”(Jackson 4). Old Man Warner says that there has always been a lottery in the town and it will remain that way. Some residents often called it unfair like Tessie and Mrs. Hutchinson when name drawing process was going unfairly. When their family was called up to pick a name Tessie yelled “You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!,”(Jackson, 5). After Tessie was the “winner” of the lottery Mrs.Hutchinson called the event “It isn't fair, it isn't right,”(Jackson,7). Overall even though characters like Tessie and Mrs. Hutchinson claimed that the lottery was unfair and not right they didn’t take any action to try and stop the lottery for further years to
Summers is the next character introduced who is of particular interest. Mr. Summers is representative of a dutiful public servant who unthinkingly carries out his civic duties. He never questions the ethics of his part in the lottery. Instead, he is steadfast if insuring that he best facilitates the process by making sure strict protocol is adhered to. Mr. Summer’s character is followed by the presence of the dilapidated black box. “Tradition was represented by the black box” (Jackson, 1948, p. 222). The black box is presented in the story as old and decrepit. However, is not replaced by the townsfolk because they cannot move forward from antiquated
The lottery happens during summer, and Mr. Summer’s assistant is “Mr. Graves” Jackson. 4. The adage of the adage. 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. The objects in the story also represent religious and symbolic meanings to the lottery.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Literature: A Portable Anthology. Gardner, Janet E.; Lawn, Beverly; Ridl, Jack; Schakel, Pepter. 3rd Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012. 242-249. Print.
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.
“Although everyone appears to agree that the annual lottery is important no one seems to know when it began or what its original purpose was” (Introduction) This is made clear when in the story it says that the reason the tradition had started was lost years ago. It is also made clear when the box is being describe as an old rugged looking thing and “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson). In the story it also says that so much of the original tradition has been lost or discarded that Mr. Summers who symbolizes a leader who has frighten amounts of power, was able to slip in chips of wood instead of paper into the box (Jackson). Mr. Summers is in charge of the lottery it is even up to him to but the black dot on the paper that decides who will be stoned. The power that Mr. Summer has serves as a symbol of humans blindly following tradition because no one ever challenged Mr. Summers whether it be to figure out or stop the lottery or even to challenge why he is the one in power. Instead the town’s people feel sorry for him because he has a nagging wife and no children. Jackson never explains why Mr. Summers has all this power. Mr. Summers is a bit ironic to because of his last name summers. When someone thinks of summer they think