The Lottery 'And The Rocking-Horse Winner'

The irony of the lottery is that it’s random and everyone has the same chance of being picked, it also exposes what kind of character Mrs. Hutchinson is. Mrs. Hutchinson at first is thought to be a caring mother, but when under pressure, instead of attempting to protect her children, she selfishly wanted to include all her children, specifically her married daughter, in the drawing to make them “take their chance” (299), to improve her chances of survival. Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Hutchinson are good friends, joking about Mrs. Hutchinson’s tardiness to the drawing. Although they’re friends, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” (301) and promotes the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson. The irony of the friendship is that the ritual is so embedded in the community that Mrs. Delacroix does not hesitate to murder her good

People in the village unfortunately get lucky in the draw, and some fortunately do not. As soon as the villagers show up in that town square, as soon as they participate in society at large, they are left open to the chance of catastrophic failure. The theme of the lottery is not only life’s choice, but also the sudden unexpected nature of death. Another representation of symbolism would be through the use of objects.

Unfortunately, he had to leave Daisy to go to war. After the war, he was determined to find Daisy but five years later, his feelings are not reciprocated; Daisy toys with him, uses Gatsby to make her husband jealous, and allows Gatsby to take the blame for the murder of her husband’s mistress. The most tragic of the three protagonists studied is Jay Gatsby because he demoralizes himself in a futile attempt at expired love, he has few genuine companions, and he cannot let go of the past. Throughout the novel, the contrast between Gatsby's pure past and corrupt future illustrates the degree to which he changes to impress his love, Daisy.

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night. / As a rich jewel in Ethiop’s ear / beauty too rich for earth to dear” (1.5 51-54). Romeo shows how impulsive he can really be, for he was depressed that morning and now all of a sudden he is in love again. Along with that, Romeo finds himself talking to Juliet that same night, during the very familiar balcony scene. It has only been a few hours after the ball that same day, and marriage is already being discussed between the two young people.

In the tortoise and the hare, the hare decided to run as fast as he could to get to the finish line, he wore himself out, took a nap and ended up losing the race to the slow old tortoise. Romeo and Juliet we like the hare and decided to go through with their plan to quickly, they didn’t stop slow down to think about what could happen. In the end death beats them in the race causing them to slow down and think. In the play Romeo and Juliet decide to get married but the Friar and the nurse think they are moving too fast.

“The Lottery” is a use of irony itself. Usually when hearing lottery, something good comes to mind, which is why the title is very misleading. She creates a lot of suspense while leading up to what actually happens, because in reality something really devastating comes from this tradition. Also, the entire reason the lottery even started was forgotten. However, the villagers did not forget how to use the stones.

In both stories they take an unexpected turn and become something quite unusual. In “Totem” they keep cutting down the totem pole even though it always grows back. In “The Lottery” when they started everyone was happy and cheerful to attend but, then it turns into a blood bath. When people normally think of lotteries they associate it with a reward such as money or an idea of high value.

The use of strong adjectives such as Delia Jones’ humming a song in a mournful key” (PG), Skyes “…snorted scornfully,” (PG) the “black box grew shabbier”(PG) sets a tone that the reader will use to follow thorough each story. As both stories reflect upon the simple lives of the character of the era, they both paint a picture of two individuals in an unfavorable scenario that they want to change. In “Sweat,” the antagonist is Sykes, the abusive, cheating husband of Delia, who wishes to run Delia out of her home in order to move his mistress in. In “The Lottery,” the protagonist Mrs. Hutchinson wants to save her husband from being stoned to death in a traditional ritual.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson tells the story of a small town and the fatal consequences of the community lottery. The author uses repetition of ideas and symbolism to convey this theme. Old Man Warner and the repeating idea of there always being a lottery have an important part in the theme of “The Lottery.” The reader has a different view than those in the story. One theme in “The Lottery” is the problem with society accepting traditions and refusing change because they want things to be done how they have always been.

A compare and contrast fiction essay on two short stories, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking Horse Winner” By D.H. Lawrence. The Lottery is a short story of a yearly ritual in which a small town casually draws one person’s name that will sacrifice their life by being stoned to death to ensure bountiful harvest. The Rocking Horse Winner is a fictional story about a woman who is obsessed with money, she shows no love or attention to her family, she thinks her husband is unlucky and her son Paul only wants to be loved by his mother, he hopes to change his mother’s mind in order to gain her love by becoming lucky.

Can an author blind the audience from the ability to predict the outcome of a story by using the power of tone? In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the author starts with a tone of anticipation, changes the tone to one of hesitation, and completes the piece of literature in a subtly depressing tone. By using this literary tactic, the author confuses the audience, and at the same time draws more attention and interest to the piece. Starting when, “The people of the village began to gather in the square,” the tone of anticipation presents itself in the text. This phrase appears in the first paragraph of the article.