Have you ever wanted to win the lottery? Everyone at one time or another has seen themselves winning the lottery and planned on what they would buy with that money. There has been a form of the lottery going on throughout history in different parts of the world. For example, the first known European lotteries were held during the Roman Empire, mainly as an amusement at dinner parties. Each guest would receive a ticket, and prizes would often consist of fancy items such as dinnerware. Every ticket holder would be assured of winning something. The lottery has changed over the years, not it is not guaranteed that everyone will get something and the chances to win are less likely. When someone thinks of the lottery they don’t expect the difficulty …show more content…
Yet people are constantly spending their money to buy tickets in hopes of winning even with such odds against them. The lottery has become so popular that the fantasy of winning has caused people to spend their last dollar on buying a ticket rather than saving it. I was very interested to find out what common people would answers the question of what they would do if they won the lottery. I then questioned several people at Drexel University in Myers Hall ELC about what their first inquiries would be if they won the lottery one day. Their responses were well thought out, intelligent answers, however it seems that most people don’t expect the possibility of winning the lottery as being a mistake or the fact that most people actually don’t do what they plan to do with the money. I wanted to discover if there was any connection between people’s social status and what they choose to do with the money or if people believed that nothing good comes from winning the …show more content…
The four people, Alan, Vince, Haley, and Cole, all had the same answer. Their answers were simple: put most of the money into the bank so that it can gain interest and use a small amount reasonably. Each of them just wanted to have something secure to fall back on even though it’s enough money to sustain them for the rest of their lives. This shows that each of these people are careful in terms of money and they would want to protect what they get in life. And it was interesting to find out all of their backgrounds as well because they are all from middle class families that do all right in terms of salary so it was interesting to see that they would all put it in the bank, instead of spending it. This interested me because I would have predicted that people similar to them would choose to spend it instead of save it. However, their responses are possibly the most correct thing to do when you win the lottery according to Forbes “list of things to do if you won the lottery,” but in reality no one plans to put all or most of it away for safe keeping. Even when I tried to explain that most people who win will not put it in the bank, they stuck with their answers regardless. I also explained the curse of the lottery to them as well and it only reaffirmed their answers to keep the majority of the money in a
In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the reader is introduced to a utopian community who practice the tradition of a lottery every year. At first glance, it seems like a nice day and the kids are just collecting rocks while waiting for their parents to arrive. All of the citizens show some excitement over the upcoming the lottery. The text states,
Has the lottery helped education as promised? There has been evidence in the Bible and ancient Rome texts that lotteries can be traced all the way back to Europe in the 15th century (Willmann 1). After that the lotteries made their way across the Atlantic from England to the United States.The first American lottery was established in Puerto Rico in 1934. This was followed by the New Hampshire lottery in 1964.The entire history of the lottery includes the debate over whether or not it is ethical.Lotteries are not only unethical but also ineffective ways to raise state revenues for education.
“Why We Keep Playing the Lottery”, by freelance journalist Adam Piore takes a very in depth look as to what drives millions of Americans to continually play the lottery when their chances of winning are virtually non-existent. He believes that because the odds of winning the lottery are so small that Americans lose the ability to conceptualize how unlikely it is that they are going to win, and therefore the risk of playing has less to do with the outcome, and more to do with hope that they are feeling when they decide to play. It 's essentially, "a game where reason and logic are rendered obsolete, and hope and dreams are on sale." (Piore 700) He also states that many Americans would rather play the lottery thinking ,"boy, I could win $100 million" (705) as opposed to thinking about all of the money they could lose over time.
Abcarian, Richard, and Marvin Klotz. "The Lottery." Literature: the Human Experience. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin's, 2006. 350-56. Print.
Today tradition is a strong part of out lives. We do not have any traditions that are as extreme as the lottery, however “The Lottery” symbolizes that relevance can be lost over time. Take the Bible for example, it has been written and rewritten several times over thousands of years, translated from one language to another and then to another. Even over the relatively short period of time in “The Lottery” many thing had been lost from there tradition. “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; some people believed that the official of the ...
Compare and Contrast! Well, you use it on a daily right? The stories “The Lottery” and “The Landlady” are two stories that you can compare and contrast. Some examples of comparisons are that both of the stories use violence, and that they both end with a plot twist no one was expecting. One example of a contrast in both of these stories is that they use their imagery differently. How are these stories alike and how are they different?
As the lottery is held annually, there is not much apparent concern for the deaths of one lost friend or family member a year. Basically, “The lottery was conducted-as were the square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program…” (Jackson 121) To these ignorant people, the tradition is almost a holiday in a sense...
Michelson, D. The historical reception of Shirley Jackson's "the lottery". In: KURZBAN, Robert; PLATEK, Steve. 18th annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society at the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. 2006.
The Lottery gains through selling tickets a massive amount of utility (money/pleasure). Much more than one person who buys a lottery
Typically, when someone thinks of a lottery they think of something positive and exciting but contrary to this idea in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the connotation has an entirely different meaning. As the story begins, readers lean towards the belief that the town in which Jackson depicts is filled with happiness and joy. “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 247) We soon realize that this notion is far from the truth. As the townspeople gather in the square for the annual lottery, which sole purpose is to stone someone to death by randomly pulling a paper out of a black box with a black dot on it, it is learned
In the year 2012- 2013, though several 3.1 public high school students or 81 percent, graduated on time (Public High School Graduation Rates), how many students in that number truly gain the full education. Nowadays, education is necessary, which becomes a controversial issue between parents and the school. Either Charter or Public school encourages the development or improvement of the educational system to our young, beloved children. There are further charters out there which children can stay home, however, still learn enormous things. “Lottery” documentary film is about the controversy between public and charter schools, which tells the stories of four families who tried to find a better educational
people treasure more than anything. The Lottery shows the protectiveness of pride but in an
We see a very disturbing ending in the Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery where the reader believes that the lottery in mention is solely a monetary game of chance, like in our lives presently. However,
"The Lottery" is a short story that shows just how disturbing the human mind can be at times. As the story proceeds it builds the reader up till the end where what you thought was going to happen did not turn out that way. But is that not how our lives are portrayed? Do we not build ourselves up to society believing what they say and do until the matter is put into our hands? Mrs. Hutchinson was a follower of society just like we are. Everyday was the same routine and every year she played the lottery just like all of the other town people. But this year would be a very different year for Mrs. Hutchinson because her chance at the lottery was about to happen. Now as a reader in this day, we would think of the lottery to be a great prize to receive but not during the days of these town people.
Gambling involves taking a risk. It’s something that gets our adrenaline pumping. Believe it or not, money is one of the major things that makes the world go round and some of those believe that money does indeed buy happiness in our lives. We all have heard the stories of those who have won thousands to even millions of dollars just by gambling and we instantly think that could be us. If some random person can be that one in a million, surely I can be too, right? Even though gambling is a fun thing to do, it is important to be aware of the kinds of gamblers that exist in today’s society and realize that gambling should be played in moderation. For instance, some variations of players include: The Social Gambler, The Professional Gambler, and