Slips of Fate
In the short story 'The Lottery'; by Shirley Jackson, the author uses irony to expand on a theme of traditions that continue although they are ludicrous and barbaric. 'Like a lamb to slaughter'; comes to mind for both the characters in this story and the reader. The characters are honoring a tradition that is handed down to them from former generations. The reader is led through the seemingly normal and quaint little village, and is taken on a ride of ironic horror as they slowly grasp the eventual fate of one inhabitant of the village.
The title 'The Lottery'; implies a contest with a winner of some kind, like a sweepstakes. When in reality the winner is actually the loser or person that will die by stoning. The village, by all appearances, seems to be a normal and ordinary place with its inhabitants meeting in a square with festival like intentions. However, the villagers know fully that when the drawing is over, one person in the community will die. Nonetheless, it is tradition. The atmosphere is casual yet anxious. Tessie Hutchinson arrives late because she 'clean forgot'; what day it is. It seems impossible to the reader that anyone would forget a day like lottery day. Her procrastination is logical but her excuse is lame. Mrs. Dunbar tells her son, 'I wish they'd hurry.'; Her anxiousness seems due to dread. She wants the dreaded hour over and done with. However, Mr. Summers states 'Let's finish quickly.'; as if there are other more important tasks that ...
The short story ‘The Lottery’ reveals a village of 300 that assemble for a lottery on June 27th every year. The lottery has been held this day for years and years, and has become a classic tradition. The lottery itself is holy to much of its residents, like Mr. Watson, who states that the village in the north is a pack of young crazy fools for removing the lottery. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanti...
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 begins with the description of a clear, sunny summer day in a small village. The townspeople are beginning to gather in the town square for the annual “lottery”. Jackson starts the story off by describing what groups are assembling in the square and their actions. Young boys collecting pebbles with pockets full of stones and older women gossiping and laughing together nervously, foreshadowing the twisted ending to this chilling short story. The process needed to conduct the lottery is mentioned, revealing that lists had to be made “...- of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family.” (239) These lists are all the work of the official of the lottery, Mr. Summers. Once all the townspeople have joined at the square it is time to start the lottery. The head of each household, generally male, walks up to Mr. Summers to select a paper from th...
The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.
“The Lottery" is a story of tradition and the weakness to see past it. There are about 300 people in this small village. The oldest man in this story is 77 and the tradition dates back before his time so that the village can have a good harvest. No matter the age, any person in this village with the black do will get killed. Tessie Hutchinson tries to slim
The Lottery begins as a day full of excitement-children run around, men have stopped work, and wives have left their housework to gossip in the town square. But while there is eagerness, tension hangs in the air, ever so slightly. Family names are called, and the head of the household draws a slip of paper out of a worn and splintering black box, After the drawing, the family with a black mark on their paper is forced to come up to the stage and draw again, The Hutchinsons receive the marked
In “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, tone and symbolism are equally important elements in comprehending this eerie short story. This dark tale takes place in a small town of about 300 people during the summer. The writer begins by painting a picture of children playing, women gossiping, and men making small-talk of home and finances, putting the reader at ease with a tone of normality. The people of the town coalesce before the lottery conductor, named Mr. Summers, appears to begin the annual town ritual of drawing from a box which will result in the killing of one townsperson by stone throwing. It isn’t until the fateful conclusion when the reader comes to realize there is nothing normal about the
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. Jackson’s story presents the issue regarding the habit
'The Lottery,'; written by Shirley Jackson is a story that takes place in a small town of approximately three hundred residents. Every year on June 27th the townspeople congregate in a giant mass in the middle of town, where the 'lottery'; takes place. This lottery is a ceremony in which each family throughout the town is represented by a tiny white piece of paper. The family representatives, who are the heads of the household, take turns drawing from a box that contains these three hundred pieces of papers. On one of the pieces of paper there is located a black dot, marked the previous night by Mr. Summers. This black dot indicates the 'winner'; of the lottery.
The Lottery was a ritual that happened on June 27th of each year. Everyone would gather in the middle of the town and from there each head of the household would draw a piece of paper from a black box. As the story proceeds you can see that people were getting impatient and making remarks like "I wish they'd hurry (The Lottery, pg. 4)." Other people were making comments like "Some places have already quit lotteries (The Lottery, pg. 4)."
"The Lottery" utilizes an objective third-person perspective to create suspense and foreshadow the ending. It begins by introducing a village and its people on a "clear and sunny" morning, "with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day" (NA, 781), with people finishing their tasks in order to gather for an annual town lottery. The narrator describes the community in a manner similar to that of an observant visitor. When the children leave school for the summer, with the boys gathering stones and the girls talking aside them, the reader is comforted by the light-hearted atmosphere of the village. It seems like a normal, idyllic town with simple people that seem stereotypic of a small rural community, where the men are absorbed in talking about "planting and rain, tractors and taxes"(NA, 781) and the women gather to exchange "bits of gossip" (NA, 782). In the beginning, the reader discovers that as opposed to larger towns that also hold the lottery, this village could finish the event in late morning and "still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner" (NA, 781). Mr. Summer, who carries out the drawing and who is described as a "round-faced, jovial man" (NA, 782), adds to the sense of normality in the town and upcoming lottery.
“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 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
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.
The lottery in the story was the game in which the prize was death. In reality this lottery symbolized the game of life, and how our behavior as human beings influences our choices in life and therefore our destiny. In this case the lottery signified winning eternal peace. This symbol helped the author develop the meaning of the story, because it is all based on the game of winning or losing. The way people from the village conducted the lottery was kind of scary, because they organized it as if it was another important event, such as the “square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program” (Jackson 212). This shows how this tradition was taken as seriously as other occurrences that took place in the village. A person with some logic would not find this to be exactly a “game”, but the population followed the tradition and did not even think about the possibility to drop it, because then they would not know what to do, or what other event would they organize for June 27th. During the lottery Mr. Adams said “some places have already quit the lotteries” as of insinuating that if the neighbor towns forgot about the tradition, they should not have to keep following it (215). The bad thing is that no one paid attention to hi...