Sacrifice In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Words: 361

Pages: 2

In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, a small town gathers every June to hold an annual lottery. Each head of the family puts their name in a black box, and whoever gets chosen with the black dot on their slip of paper gets stoned to death. So why do they do this? The lottery started out as a just way to choose a sacrifice for plentiful crops, but know that we have modern technology the main reason the townspeople still continue this, is to not break tradition. To start, we know that the lottery started out because it was meant to be a fair way to choose a person to offer for plentiful crops. On page 22, line 260, Old Man Warner states there used to be an old saying, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” What he means here is when

Show More

Essay on TheLotteryDecember5th

a ladder. Oftentimes people follow superstitions so much that they become rituals. This 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…

Words 2280 - Pages 10

English: Short Story and Mr. Adams Essay

2014 “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” The theme of “sacrifice” is integral to the author’s purpose in both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence. While the two authors use the idea of sacrifice in very different ways, the importance of sacrifice is clearly delineated. However, Jackson and Lawrence approach the theme from separate angles and with two very unique purposes in mind. This paper will examine the theme of “sacrifice” in each short…

Words 1081 - Pages 5

Purpose Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The Purpose of the Lottery In the short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, a small village has an annual gathering in which there are two rounds to determine which villager will “win” the lottery. Every year, there’s a black box taken to the town square filled with slips of paper--and one marked. The villager who chooses the marked paper “wins” the lottery, and loses their life to save more corn crops. But over the years, the town isn’t trying to save more crops for themselves--it became…

Words 489 - Pages 2

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…

Words 619 - Pages 3

Essay on The Lottery vs the Destructors

Thesis In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, and Graham Greene’s “The Destructors”, the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, grim reality, and a ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately showcases how people blindly follow tradition. Outline I. Introduction II. Setting B. Time Period III. Plot A. What messages are seen in…

Words 1039 - Pages 5

Shirley Jackson Bibliography

Shirley Jackson Bibliography Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916, in San Francisco to a family with somewhat of a social position. She was not really the daughter that her parents wanted especially for her mother. Her mother thought of her as ugly, she wanted a daughter that was beautiful and a fool, unfortunately Shirley was neither of those things. It was said that she looked like her father with reddish-blonde hair, light eyes and fair complexion. Shirley was one that…

Words 1716 - Pages 7

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…

Words 643 - Pages 3

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…

Words 491 - Pages 2

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…

Words 1077 - Pages 5

Examples Of Sacrifice In The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is about a girl who is about to get stoned to death. Some may wonder why would they do something like that. Well they believe that a human sacrifice will bring good crops. Some say good things need sacrifices. Many people die for the better of others. For example in the story Tessie is about to be killed. In a real world example police officers are killed to stop the bad guys so we can be safe. And Tessie was going to be killed so the villagers could eat the crops…

Words 279 - Pages 2