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The lottery by Shirley Jackson analysis
The lottery literature essay
The lottery literature essay
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There is more meaning behind every object and the importance it holds is what focuses to make it more understandable to the readers. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas by giving them symbolic meanings that are not the same as their literal sense. For example, violets can symbolize shyness. Even animals can be represented as symbols. Here in the United States the bald headed eagle represents freedom and independence. Also a cross represents religion and faith. Even now a days teens and kids use symbols while texting or on their social media sites. We see symbols every day and we don’t always pay much attention to them. Symbols are especially used in literature and writing. Many of the greatest writers in history and even today writers use symbolism in their papers or novels.
In the short story, there is a small village that has a lottery every June. When you think of a lottery you automatically think something good or winning money. Well in this story it’s not exactly that. They have a lottery to see who will get picked to be stoned so that they will have a good harvesting season. The story has characters like Mr. Summers who conducts the lottery and Mr. Graves who helps him and people like Old Man Warner who is the oldest man in town and has gone through the lottery seventy seven times. It’s not like a drawing but what happens is the head of the family goes up and picks a little paper from a black box. Once every family has picked their little paper they all open it to see which family got the paper with a black dot on it. In the short story it is the
Hutchinson family who draws the paper with the black dot. After each person in the family draws again from the black box whoever has the paper with the black ...
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Cassel, Seth. “Symbols in ‘The Lottery’.” Flamingnet. Litpick, LLC, Nov 2005. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
Gahr, Elton and Rhonda Bowen, ed. “Understanding the symbols in ‘The Lottery’.” Bright Hub Education. Bright Hub, Inc., 5 Jan 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. 1864. Print.
Ma, Martine. “Literary Analysis Essay: ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Word Press. N.P., 10 Jun 2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
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Scheelat, Lucas. “Symbolism in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Reading Reaction. N.P., 26 Jan 2009. Web. 17 Mar 2014.
“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.
Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
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.
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
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.
The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a community that has a yearly lottery pull. The short story is set in a small town that is seemingly normal at first. Every year the town has a lottery pull, in which one person is chosen at random, to be stoned to death by all of their fellow townsmen. The lottery is a tradition that was started many years ago, and is kept alive by the current residents. By using symbolism, irony, and setting Jackson shows the true darkness within the entirety of the human race.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Gioia, Dana and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. 390-396.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. 5th ed. Ed. Laurence Perrine. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers 1998.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner. Boston: New York: Bedford/St Martin’s, 2013. 242-249. Print.
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.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." The Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 989.
In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson we are told of a small village of about 300 and the event that takes place on June 27th of every year. All members of the community are required to participate in this lottery every year. At the beginning of the lottery, the husband or eldest male of each family draws a small slip of paper from the black box. In this instance, Bill Hutchinson gets the one slip with a black spot. This means each Hutchinson family member has to draw a slip to determine who gets stoned. Bill's wife Tessie gets the marked slip. In keeping with tradition, each villager obtains a stone and begins to surround Tessie. The story ends with Tessie being stoned to death while she bemoans the unfairness of the situation.