Essay on Hamlet

Submitted By karan9932
Words: 840
Pages: 4

“The lottery”
1. The point of view. An intention narrator tells the story, remaining outside the characters minds, yet the narrator’s detachment contrasts with the attitude of the author, who most probably, like the reader, is shocked. That the day’s happenings can be recounted so objectively lends them both confidence and force. The beauty of the June day is out of keeping with the fact that what takes place on the town green is a ritual murder.
2. The original black box, in Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery", has been replaced. Mr. Summers, the man who conducted the lottery, had spoken about replacing the box, but many of the traditions of the lottery had been removed from the lottery, like the ritual salute and the "recital of some sort." The loss of the original black box, the ritual salute, and the recital does not seem to bother the villagers. Readers can justify this be looking at the first paragraph. The villagers, even with the lottery ending in a death, do not seem to be upset by the loss of some of the original aspects. Instead, it seems much more important that the lottery take as little time as possible. Therefore, the significance of the missing "parts" of the lottery is that they are not significant at all. The only thing that matters is that the lottery still takes place and that the villagers are home by lunch.
3. Different attitude toward ritual represented by following:
A. Mr. Summer's attitude toward the ritual seems to be without sympathy. He is familiar to this ritual due to the fact that he has been the one leading it in the previous years. He holds a significant amount of power in the village and has the most control. His attitude toward the ritual is impersonal.
B. Old Man Warner is symbolic of the "old ways" of the town, when no one questioned the lottery's benefits. He believes that the lottery has always been and should always be. He does not like change; therefore, he wants the lottery to always continue.
C. Mrs. Hutchinson's attitude toward the lottery is that is it unfair. "'It wasn't fair,'" Tessie said." She already appears to stand out from the crowd before the lottery, because of the fact that she arrives late.
D. The villager's attitude toward the lottery is serious. Everyone except Mrs. Hutchinson arrives on time which indicates that they take it very seriously.
4. The story reveals that it is human nature to sometimes follow a tradition, or believe certain things without questioning it. People have authority figures tell them what's true and what is not true, and some will just believe it without questioning anything. The mindset that "that's the way things have always been" is very dangerous because it closes all the doors to questioning a tradition.

5. • A great example presenting symbolism would be the names of the townspeople. Mr. Summers’ name, for one, is representing the irony of the evil that awaits its place later in the short story. Summer is usually thought to be a cheerful and joyous time - the sun shines and the children play; everything and everyone