The Lottery Tradition Analysis
Many people would die to win the lottery; in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson you would do anything NOT to win this lottery. This annual lottery reveals the negative aspects of this town’s Tradition, Savagery, Barbarism, and cold-heartedness. In this paper I will show why this town blindly follows these customs, not because it’s a tradition but because of the accepting wickedness that can be shown. Why does the town follow this foolish tradition? Throughout “The Lottery” the narrator tells that the people do not remember how the lottery began, and that some of the older people believe the lottery has changed over the years, that now people just want to get it over with as fast as possible. The reader can infer that the story suggests that by having the lottery each year, a human sacrifice to unseen forces in the universe or gods, which …show more content…
For example “Mr. Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, … Bill held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.” This is his wife and he had no problem telling everybody it was her knowing that she will shortly die. The most cold-hearted part was when someone made sure that her son, little Davey, also had small rocks to throw at his mother. The town doesn’t care who was picked they just want death to the person and everybody involved can take part. Old man Wagoner could believe that the lottery helps with crops. But for everybody else they just do it out of blindness and evilness. This town blindly follows these customs, not because it’s a tradition but because the lottery is so ingrained in their culture that they cannot let go of it, and they don’t view killing an innocent neighbor as wrong but just “another clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer
What Are Some Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Lottery
2065 Words | 9 PagesStories have always been something that we, as humans, enjoy to hear and read. This is shown throughout history and continues to remain true today. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery,” she takes her readers through a whirlwind of a story, starting it out one way and ending it with something unexpected. She does a great job of writing, by implementing in foreshadowing, imagery, and the theme of tradition. When someone thinks of a lottery, it usually means that someone is going to win something, such as money.
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519 Words | 3 PagesThis is not the case for a small village in a rural setting in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” A long held tradition in which one person draws a piece of paper for their families and then the village proceeds to stone to death the one family member that draws the unlucky black dot, the lottery rarely draws questioning. In this story, Tessie Hutchinson is fine with the process until
The Lottery Tradition Analysis
1015 Words | 5 PagesIn the village, and the world at large, in “The Lottery” there is a yearly practice of human sacrifice to assure good crop. The feeling that occur to the fictional people in this story must be very conflicted or dulled to the point where there is no longer feeling. Jackson’s only source of background is conversation between the characters. The narrator does not offer any background at all. Through the story we see that this lottery is a yearly event.
Ticket To Death In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
1668 Words | 7 PagesDrawing “The Lottery” out of the box for a human sacrifice is a tradition in the book that the village does every year. Ancient society and religious groups around the world have human sacrifices to prove themselves worthy to whoever they worship. Such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Egyptians. Another element this storyline is shown as an allegory this the fact that Tess Hutchinson’s death was ruled by stoning. “Mr. Dunbar had small stones in both hands” ( Jackson 7).
Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
350 Words | 2 PagesIn “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the lottery that takes place is actually a tradition that the village follows. Winning a lottery might sound like the best thing ever, but not for this village. Every year, a person is stoned to death because of this old tradition. The message that Shirley Jackson is trying to convey is that you should stand up for what you believe or what your traditions are.
Shirley Jackson The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis
871 Words | 4 PagesWhile real life traditions are rarely so extreme, Jackson’s exaggerated fictional example emphasizes her point to great effect. By the end of the story, the audience is convinced that the town is wrong to uphold the lottery tradition, but Jackson is not really writing about a lottery; she is writing about how damaging it can
The Lottery Tradition Essay
501 Words | 3 PagesThe Lottery itself represents a primal example of loss of innocence; portrayed through the young boys who gather at the town square to collect rocks for the horrors soon to follow. An illustration of how traditions can lose their true meanings and come to represent violence and warfare. Furthermore, “The Lottery” also represents the decaying characteristics of traditions, as symbolized by the town’s black box, in this case where every year, someone’s name is drawn out of the black box and they are stoned to death, by other members who may or may not end up to be family. Nonetheless, it ends up to be the villagers who
How Does Shirley Jackson Use Foreshadowing In The Lottery
980 Words | 4 PagesWhoever draws the marked paper does not win. They lose their life and their family receives grief instead of the positivity that you would expect from the word lottery. The name of the man leading the lottery is also ironic, Mr. Summers. Not only is the event being held in summer, Mr. Summers is also conducting what is likely the darkest event of the year for the
The Negative Consequences Of Tradition In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
467 Words | 2 PagesThe tradition of the lottery has been carried out for so long in this village that nobody even knows the reason for its occurring in the first place and nobody questions it. When Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village, is told about other villages giving up the tradition of the lottery, he says that they are, “[A] pack of crazy fools [...]. There [has] always been a lottery [...]” (Jackson, 4). There is no reason why there has always been a lottery except that every year on June 27th, they held the lottery.
The Lottery Symbolism Analysis
883 Words | 4 PagesEither way, the short story used all its components to paint for the reader a deceptively innocent village with a cruel and inhumane custom. The tradition of the lottery had been upheld by the people for so long that they could no longer see how horrid it truly was. Instead, they mistakenly believed it was a good practice in their lives. A lesson to be learned from The Lottery is that unjust brutality, or any kind of cruelty, should not be condoned no matter
Thesis For The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
650 Words | 3 Pages“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts off with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers holds the lottery. Once everyone gathers, every family draws a slip of paper out of an old black box, and the family with the black mark on their paper gets picked. After that, each family member older than 3 years of age re-draws a slip of paper again and this time, the person with the black mark on their paper gets picked as the “lucky winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery, with her reward is being stoned to death.
Tradition In Jay Yarmove's The Lottery
1033 Words | 5 PagesTraditions are prevalent, particularly in small towns, like the one in the story, as a way to link families to past generations. The lottery that is held each year concludes with the villagers taking part in a vicious murder. The villagers are not fully aware of the reasons behind the lottery only that it is tradition and it has been taking place for many years. This shows the reality and consequences that come with thoughtlessly following such a bizarre
Symbolism And Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
866 Words | 4 PagesShirley Jackson’s famous story, “The Lottery” is a brutally descriptive story about how a small village participates in the annual lottery. All throughout the story, Jackson uses several literary devices to convey the meaning behind this town’s tradition. Normally when individuals think about a tradition, they visualize something positive. However, in “The Lottery”, tradition is illustrated as something unfortunate and deadly. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson shows the theme of the violence within a small village through symbolism to show that even the most ordinary people can commit violence, which can eventually lead to killing innocent individuals.
The Lottery Argumentative Essay
691 Words | 3 PagesThe purpose of the lottery is to continue the old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order for a harvest. The scapegoat is chosen at random and then stoned to death by his/her companions. Although “The Lottery” reflects an event from the past, Jackson shows that many of the actions of the town resemble the tribulations that ensue in today’s society. To begin with, like the villagers in the story, our society also partakes in valuing tradition.
Symbolism And Themes In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson
1474 Words | 6 Pages“The Lottery” is an realism/horror story written by Shirley Jackson. The story is about some villagers of a small New England town who follow the tradition of making a lottery every year. When it comes, they like to celebrate it with the correct rules and the correct objects so they can feel more comfortable. Everyone need to take a slip of paper from a small black box, and the paper with a black dot in it means that the family is the winner, then they raffle again; Bill Hutchinson, who was the husband of the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson picked a paper with a black dot in it, that meant that Tessie was the winner of the lottery, then she starts complaining because the drawing was not conducted properly. At the end, the townspeople moved off to a cleared spot outside the town and they begin stoning her to death (Jackson).
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