1. Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not, at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson start to foreshadow the ending in paragraphs 2 and 3? Conversely, how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town? Answer : Yes, I was surprised by the ending of the story. Jackson indicated a peaceful and beautiful town. People in the .town are not surprised by this event because for them it was a yearly event which comes every year . However, this appeared to be true until we examined properly because people in the town hided their fear. The setting for me was set in the first few paragraphs. "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny around ten o'clock..." this …show more content…
They believed that they need to do the lottery to sacrifice something, then the crops will grow. More likely. 3. In what ways are the characters differentiated from one another? Looking back at the story, can you see why TessieHutchinson is singled out as the "winner"? Answer : He means that the names in the story are different and the ways that come characters which to see someone die and others do not believe the lottery. Tessie is singled out because she was being suspicious and shouts at Mr. Summers that he did not give enough time to Bill to choose. So she thinks it isn't fair. 4. What are some examples of irony in this story? For example, why might the title, "The Lottery," or the opening description in paragraph one, be considered ironic? Answer : The winner of the lottery didn't get any benefits but stoned by others. The title " The Lottery" is irony since when we see the lottery nowadays, we will imagine if we win the lottery, we will win the prize. However, the story showed that the person who win the lottery is not something he/she can be happy …show more content…
I can see that the writer is against this horrible tradition. The writer let the mother Tessie repeated "It isn't fair." to show writer's reluctance of this lottery. The youngest boy Davy was told to grab some pebbles and throw them at his own mother. This also makes writer's attitude clear because it shows the way the characters act when the lottery comes around again. 9. This story satirizes a number of social issues, including the reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions, ideas, rules,laws, and practices. What kinds of traditions, practices, laws, etc. might "The Lottery" represent? Answer : The lottery in this story represents bad ending. However, the writer suggested that the hostile tradition shouldn't be inherited. The traditions, laws should be good harvest. 10. This story was published in 1948, just after World War II. What other cultural or historical events, attitudes, institutions, or rituals might Jackson be satirizing in this
As Old Man Warner says “There’s always been a lottery”(136). Everyone is so accustomed to the lottery happening every year that it almost doesn't have an affect on him or her until they are the one chosen to be sacrificed. For example, Mrs. Hutchinson was joking with her husband about the dishes before the lottery started. Once her family drew the marked paper, she started to complain about it not being fair. The story ends with her screaming, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(139) as they begin to stone her. All of a sudden, it was her family, then it was she, and it was all unfair. No one tries to change the tradition all though no one is really forcing him or her to keep it 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.
The first analysis of the story is irony. According Carolyn Sharp “Irony in ancient Israelite literature serves as a many-edged tool for the destabilization of the overconfident subject, the problematizing of nationalistic rhetoric, and the subversion of ancient believers’ misunderstandings of tradition” (Sharp). Irony is when a situation that is abnormal because things happen in a way that seems to be the opposite of what one expected. The first act of Irony is the plot of the story itself. The story uses an abundant amount of cheerful imagery in the beginning which makes the audience think that it is going to be a joyful story about winning a regular lottery. But in reality it is not an ecstatic story, only a horrific play about a death lottery. Another act of irony is when Tessie humerly hurries her husband up to the front to select the paper of of the lottery to get people to laugh and to lighten the mood. This is ironic because when she is the one selected to get stoned she claims that Bill did not have enough time to pick the slip he wanted when she was the one egging him to hurry up. The last example of irony is with Mrs. Delac...
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.
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.
First of all, Jackson uses the elements of the story to show that humans are able to display brutality anywhere if they don’t seem to see a problem with it. One story element is the setting, and the setting of this story is a “sunny, pleasant….and happy” place, yet terrible occurrences still took place (The Lottery 144). This shows that bad things can happen anywhere, even in places where everything seems to be “civilized and peaceful” (The Lottery 144). Also, there are no clues in the story that describe a “specific time and place” (The Lottery 144). By doing that, the author was trying to suggest that terrible events can occur at any given time or place in the world (The Lottery 144).
Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.
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.
The title of the story, “The Lottery” illustrates irony when knowing the true essence of the title.
“ The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, shows the corruption in a village whose people treat life with insignificance. Through the use of literary devices, Jackson portrays how practices in traditions can be barbaric;ultimately, resulting in persecution.
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.
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.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” irony is an underlying theme used throughout the story. The setting is introduced as a “clear and sunny” day, but ends with the brutal death of a housewife (715). The two people who essentially run the town, Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers, also have ironic names. In addition, the characters and the narrator make ironic statements throughout the story.
The author of “The Lottery” wrote this story “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson 211). This story reflects human behavior in society to show how although rules, laws or traditions do not make sense, people follow them. Throughout the story the three main symbols of how people blindly follow senseless traditions were the lottery itself, the color black, and the hesitation that people had towards the prize.
The title of the story plays a role in how Shirley Jackson used some literary elements to help mask the evils and develop the story. The title “The Lottery” serves as an allegory. When people think of the lottery majority of people associate it with something good like the New York State Lottery where you can win some money. In the story it is used as a way to pick someone to be killed. In the story everyone gathers in the town square and the town’s people draw family names until a black dot is one the slip of paper. Which