The author uses the idea of the "lottery" in a brilliant way to illustrate the unpleasant truth of the human nature. The lottery in Shirley Jackson's short story shows a reversed meaning for the real lottery where the winner gets a precious prize.
“The Lottery” Interpretive Essay “The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts of with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers, the official, holds the lottery. After that, every family draws out of an old black box, and a certain family gets picked. Out of the certain family, one person gets picked as the unlucky “winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery.
Human nature is what defines the way that people behave and think. In her story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson describes the different ways people react to the probability of getting killed. In the town presented, people have a tradition called The Lottery in which a human sacrifice is made every year, and it is associated with good agriculture and nature; however, the ritual is so old there's no way of actually knowing why or how it started. They decide who the victim will be by a paper draw between all of the people in town and at the end whoever gets the slip with the black dot, is stoned to death. The unlucky winner is Tessie Hutchinson and other members of the town like Mr. Summer; who conducts it, and Old man Warner; who is a loyal follower of the ritual are involved.
The lottery has been around for centries. Numerous people have entered and won then ecstatic, but others did not want to be in or want the lottery. Especially if you lived in a small village in 1948 on June 27th. Where every year the lottery was held in the towns square with all the towns people, hoping that what they were about to do would bring good crops this year. This was their tradition, but maybe tradition is not always a good thing.
Prompt 1: Sacrifice and Human Nature In this paper, I will be comparing and contrasting the understanding of sacrifice and human nature in the context of Genesis 22:1-19 in the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. I will begin by exploring how desensitization to actions through repetition is a natural aspect of human nature. “The Lottery” provides insights into how repeated acts can shape our responses and perceptions. Additionally, I will explore evidence that demonstrates how our responses to higher entities or institutions are influenced by our culture.
Throughout history, writers used literature as a means of inciting political and social change. Literature is a medium that is exceptionally effective at inspiring emotions, molding beliefs, and transforming societies. In many instances in history, literature is the impetus behind grand societal shifts such as revolutions and cultural modes of thought. The many instances of literature’s role in causing extreme emotional reaction and radically transforming human society show the importance and effectiveness of literature as an expressive medium.
“The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson is a very suspenseful, yet very shocking short story. This story is set in a small village, on a hot summers day in June. Flowers are blooming, and the towns people are gathering for the lottery, which is a tradition the town does every year. As the reader reads the first paragraph they think this is a happy story. The title also says, “The Lottery” which is a word often used for winning something or receiving a prize.
The Lottery, was published by the magazine The New Yorker, the story is written by Shirley Jackson. It was a clear warm sunny day on the 27 of June, it was also the day of the lottery. The farming village of about 300 people started gathering up at about 10:00 o'clock. The children met up and started collecting rocks as the parents of the children started gathering up in the town square. As they were meeting up Mr.Summers and Mr.Graves came with the black box.
The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a timeless and powerful work of literature that exposes the dangers of conformity, challenges the power of tradition and advocates for the importance of individuality in the face of oppressive social norms. Through a masterful use of suspenseful storytelling, vivid imagery, and a shocking twist ending, Jackson immerses the reader in a seemingly idyllic small town and gradually reveals the dark truth behind the annual lottery. By examining the character’ attitudes and behaviors, the story highlights the human tendency to blindly follow tradition and the catastrophic consequences of such behavior. However, the story also offers hope for resistance and change through the character of Tessie
In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Mrs. Delacroix conveys the duality of human nature through abruptly betraying Tessie when she is chosen to be sacrificed. For example, before the lottery, Tessie talks with Mrs. Delacroix then "Tapped Mrs. Delcaroix on the arm as a farewell and made her way through the crowd" (Jackson 2). By tapping Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as 'a farewell,' Tessie wishes her luck and believes that Mrs. Delacroix is her friend. The friendly nature between the two women shows Mrs. Delacroix's righteous and kind side to her personality.
The Lottery In this short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson we can see the theme of the duality of human nature. Tessie Hutchinson thinks the lottery is unfair. She claims that they didn't get through time. But everybody had the same chance and time.
“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.
Universal Themes: The Lottery A lot of people in the world follow traditions blindly. In the Speculative fiction the Lottery by Shirley Jackson the people in the story follow the tradition of the lottery not realizing the evil of it. The book shows how people do not care who they are hurting as long as the tradition is complete.
Human nature can be characterized as being positive, capable of altruism and goodness which sets humankind apart from savage animals; however, human nature possesses a dark side, namely cruelty, and it is capable of barbarism like any beast. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, cruelty is part of human nature, and the participants of the lottery demonstrate human cruelty through violence towards one another; markedly, by exhibiting desensitization to violence and the acceptance of violence resulting in internal dysfunction which is perpetuated yearly. Participants of the lottery belong to a close-knit community, and every year the community hosts an enigmatic lottery draw. The conclusion of the lottery draw is only mysterious until the outcome
This essay contends that the convention of the lottery speaks to the discriminatory stratification of the social order along lines of gender and financial position. The story sets put in a residential community in New England. Consistently a lottery is held, in which one individual is to be randomly decided to be stoned to death by the individuals in the town. The lottery has been practiced in excess of seventy years by the townspeople. By utilizing imagery, Jackson uses names, items, and the setting to hide the genuine importance and expectation of the lottery.
