Following Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the end of the story was disturbing but interesting at the same time. One can ask many questions about the story once the reading is complete. For me, the story left me confused as why a village would kill one person in a sacrifice to have good crops. Shirley Jackson is a great author but it could be argued that the villagers blindly following tradition is an unfair idea and the villagers continuing this tradition will lead to heartbreak.

To begin with, is everyone enthusiastic about the lottery? Yes and no because, when the children piled stones for the lottery, they were laughing and making jokes about it. But when the lottery actually happened they didn’t understand that they were going to stone

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Blindly Following Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

short story, "The Lottery", tells of a village where the town conducts a murder in order to have a good harvest. The people gather to conduct a lottery every June where the head of the family-usually male- picks a slip of paper from a black box to know if they will be sacrificed. Then, if they get the black dot their family will be chosen to do another lottery to choose who will get stoned to death. Jackson uses "The Lottery" to warn others of the dangers of blindly following tradition. We are also able…

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Essay on TheLotteryDecember5th

idea is seen in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Ms. Jackson develops her short story using symbols, such as names, objects, numbers and specific times in the setting to further the idea that superstitions overtime become rituals. Ms. Jackson uses a network of allegorical symbolism in “The Lottery” to build around a severe commentary of how tradition works in American culture. Tradition both as a means of everyday routine, and also the larger kinds of religious traditions and superstitions that…

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Imagery In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

In the short story The Lottery the author, Shirley Jackson, begins the story using vivid and detailed imagery to set the setting and tone for the story. Jackson describes the village as”clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day” (paragraph 1). The author’s diction indicates that the town is welcoming and in the process of transitioning into a fresh start of a new season. Jackson misleads the audience into thinking that the village is average and performing the usual day to day activities…

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Use Of Inhumanity In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery,” the author uses subversive irony to accentuate the underlying brutality and inhumanity of the town and the townspeople. Jackson immediately establishes the setting to an idyllic town square on an early summer day, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full- summer day” (Jackson). Jackson then describes the normality of the behavior of the townspeople by depicting the eagerness of the children to play with one another…

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the lottery Essay examples

Critical Analysis: The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” is based on the principal theme that the will of the people overcomes individual power. The story clearly illuminates the ease with which people find group-decisions, due to the fact that group-decisions reduce the personal responsibility. Additionally, it illustrates the imminent culture in which tradition is viewed as the ‘security blanket’ of the community at the expense of reason. Jackson’ story vividly…

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Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s fictional short story, “The Lottery,” contains both obvious and hidden symbols leading to the stories collective mentality theme. The stories flat and empty characters appear to the audience as everyday small-town people, but their surnames deserve a second glance. A stool and a box are nothing out of the ordinary, at least not the first time around, and as readers experience Jackson’s shock factor, they will take note of their symbolic nature. Each symbol, abundantly scattered…

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Comparing and Contrasting Young Goodman Brown and the Lottery Essay

Contrasting “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” By: Wayne Gillard II Professor C. Givens ENGL 102-B19 Wayne Gillard Prof. Givens ENGL 102-B19 Essay 1 Outline Thesis: The literary works of “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” both appear to show the fallibleness of human behavior and judgment. I. Introduction/Statement of Thesis II. Themes and Author’s Purpose a. The Lottery i. The hazards of following tradition or living according to society norms; doing…

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conformity kills Essay

Conformity Kills There are two major themes of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. These include the dangers of thoughtlessly following traditions, the unjust and inhumanity of violent persecutions. This story intrigued me not only for its message, but because of the author’s background. Jackson suffered from severe depression, and struggled with it throughout her life, this may have had some relevance as to why she wrote this story. Her unique and twisted foreshadowing tone shows the reader a glimpse…

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Literary Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Literary Analysis “the Lottery” We have all seen everyday violence and the ignorance of the human race following tradition, since tradition is always being followed we always don´t want to be the ones to break it, leaving to the fact that tradition is always followed and changed and twisted but never completely disappears.One of the characters learns this in the story ¨The Lottery¨ by Shirley Jackson in which Tessie Hutchinson,a housewife, wins the town lottery, what she wins is a stoning killing…

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The Lottery Argumentative Essay

Shirley Jackson’s controversial piece The Lottery has been described as one of the greatest works of the twentieth century. It has been regarded as both confusing by some and brilliant by others. At first glance the short story seems to be a simple take on how unchecked tradition and power can make people go blind to the injustices they commit. However, Jackson’s rich use of symbolism paints a clear picture that The Lottery is reflective of the Gospel. Every society needs a scapegoat, someone to…

Words 684 - Pages 3