The Lottery Shirley Jackson Analysis

Words: 657
Pages: 3
Open Document
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story portraying a Lottery who is manifested distinctly than what we may come to know. As the whole town prepares for this festivity, we catch a glimpse of the characters and their lives. The members of the town each gather around for the drawing of a lucky winner. Later, we come to find that the “lucky winner” ends up being none other than Tessie Hutchinson, who perishes through a stoning. The townsfolk have been doing the lottery for so long that they lose all sense of morality until they actually get “chosen”; because the lottery has been active for multiple years, other communities are changing their ways, and the characters themselves realize the moral detriment.
The exact history date on which the lottery …show more content…
“Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. ‘It isn't fair,’ she said”( Jackson 6). Tessie Hutchinson has always grown up with the optimal regard for the lottery just like everyone else. Every year there must be a lottery. Every year someone must be chosen, and every year someone must die. Self preservation is common for these humans who don’t have a problem with the lottery so long as they do not get “chosen”. Tessie is going through the exact realization at this particular moment. Her whole life she has been going through these motions. However, the gravity of the situation is evermore present in this situation. When she states that the drawing “isn’t fair”, she’s trying to find a loophole. Tessie Hutchinson realises that she is going to die and starts making excuses-clinging to her life.
Through the perilous journey of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the audience came to uncover multiple realizations. The audience was given insight on the characters, backgrounds, and history of the lottery. The impact that the history had on the characters really exemplifies the morality of the story itself. From the origins of the lottery, to other communities changing their lifestyle, to a main character realizing the severity; the audience can reflect on the unethical values of that civilization. Only then
Show More

Related Documents: The Lottery Shirley Jackson Analysis

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

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay

Tradition or Torture: An Analysis of “The Lottery” Pelting stones at innocent individuals is an dishonourable tradition and writing your name on paper for their own death. Innocent people should not write there names for their own death and then get pelted by rock solid stones till their breath. The people should not be forced to participate in this tradition if they want to and also people that have never done anything wrong in the worst place. Everyone has the right to stand up for themselves and…

Words 844 - Pages 4

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Analysis

the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a deadly tradition promotes vicious acts against one another. A man by the name Mr. Summers hosts a lottery for a small town that contains about 300 people; with the use of a special “black box”, the town draws slips of paper. However, there is one piece of paper that is marked with a black dot, and only one person will be lucky enough to acquire it. The rest of the town, through the use of stones, eliminates the selected individual. Jackson illustrates how…

Words 965 - Pages 4

Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

“The lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story about an unusual town blindly following tradition. To help her express the theme of the story, the author uses symbolism, so that the reader can understand better the message behind her work. The use of setting, symbols and tone creates an unique atmosphere that connects with the reader. The setting and tone in the short story are the first barrier that the reader embraces, giving a sense of where they are as well as the overall feeling within the…

Words 856 - Pages 4

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: an Analysis Essay example

Kouyialis EN102: Composition II Professor Eklund The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: An Analysis The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948 and takes place in a small town, on the 27th of June. In this story, the lottery occurs every year, around the summer solstice. All families gather together to draw slips of paper from a black box. When reading this story, it is unclear the full premise of the lottery until near the end. The heads of households are the first…

Words 1528 - Pages 7

Character Analysis: The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

and Mr. Summers act surprised when they hear of people giving up the lottery, they despise In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson the characters have different feelings about the lottery, an important tradition in their village. Characters like Tessie show she doesn't want the lottery when she says “I tell you it wasn't fair”. Tessie also acts like she failed to remember the date when she comes out later to the lottery. We can also spot this when Tessie complains about how her husband…

Words 190 - Pages 1

The Lottery Shirley Jackson Tradition Analysis

Furthermore, Shirley Jackson also demonstrates the idea in her story that over time, with a completely different atmosphere, after several decades of transition, and no mindful participation, a tradition often takes on a whole different meaning and is celebrated for a different purpose than what was originally intended. The author demonstrates this idea when she writes, “So much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded” (Jackson, 2). In the previous quote the author makes it clear that, due…

Words 505 - Pages 3

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Literary Analysis

Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery,” uses the black box as a symbol to convey an underlying message that tradition should be questioned since the ideals followed may have illogical purpose and cause harm. For instance, in the short story, while the citizens were gathering around for the ritual, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.” (25, Lines 15-18) Basically, children start…

Words 513 - Pages 3

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson shows her skillful writing techniques in “The Lottery” making her readers question what’s going to happen next or even at all. She uses irony to make us believe certain things are going to happen when they don’t. Theme to show us how a twisted, blind tradition rules the villager’s lives. She also uses two different tone through the story, making the climax even more intense. The right tone can set any story, and makes it a brilliant story. Shirley Jackson uses different tones in…

Words 723 - Pages 3

The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Symbolism Analysis

Some ways Jackson uses symbolism is with the black box, which represents tradition because “It grew shabbier each year” (391). The box was splintered on the sides and the town needed a new one since the box is messed up, this means they have been using it a lot, but some people didn't want to disturb the tradition it had a long time ago. This makes the reader think that the people in the town are brainwashed by the box and the lottery. Therefore, we understand that in the small town the box runs…

Words 156 - Pages 1