Theme Of Irony In The Lottery

Words: 287

Pages: 2

First of all, the title of this short story is “The Lottery” and the definition of a lottery is a random drawn to win prizes. Ironically in this short story, this is not the case at all. The villagers meet every year to draw from a box, and who ever has a black mark on their piece of paper, were stoned to death. It is Ironic that this annual event “The Lottery” prize is being stoned to death by family and friends. The word lottery is mostly used in positive situations and not negative ones, as death. The second example of irony in this short story is everyone in the town seem to care about one another, and made sure no one misses out on the festive occasion. At the end of the story everyone was quick to pick up a stone and throw it at Tessie

Show More

Mending Wall And The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, is a story that depicts the village’s idea of a tradition. The people assembled and drew from the black box. The person who grabbed the paper with the black mark on it would be stoned to death, along with a member of their family. While some of the people like the idea of keeping the tradition around, others want it gone. Both Robert Frost and Shirley Jackson use symbolism and irony throughout “Mending Wall” and “The Lottery” to emphasize the importance of…

Words 874 - Pages 4

Literary Analysis Essay On The Lottery

The Lottery Literary analysis In the story titled “The Lottery’”, the author, Shirley Jackson, uses many literary devices to help get the theme of the story across. The story is about a town that comes together for a “lottery” that they do every year, but, it is no normal lottery. The theme in this story is portraying people blindly following tradition. Jackson expresses this through the use of symbolism, characterization, irony, and through the setting. Symbolism is a literary device that…

Words 700 - 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

Literary Devices In The Lottery

“The Lottery” Literary devices are specific language techniques that are used in a text to make it clearer. Shirley Jackson author of “The Lottery”, uses five literary devices. They are symbolism, allegory, foreshadowing, theme and irony. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. This literary device is used most often throughout the short story to keep the suspenseful ending a surprise rather than shock. Three main symbols are used in this story, the title “The Lottery”, the…

Words 1147 - Pages 5

The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis

malicious, The Lottery, and The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas tend to suggest humans are naturally malicious. Through both readings they exemplify naturally malicious behavior in similar ways with similar themes as well. Through the literary devices of irony, rhetoric, and catharsis, it is shown that the villagers conscious when it comes to sacrifice. Their actions prove that the morals/values instilled in them are overpowered by their own selfishness and happiness. Starting with The Lottery, the author…

Words 674 - Pages 3

Use Of Irony In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

“The Lottery,” irony is the headline for the entire short story. The setting begins with a summer day being sunny and clear, but the ending is about a woman getting stoned to death. The story takes place in a small town, and every year for the past seventy years, the people of the town hold a lottery. As the lottery is held, one person’s name is drawn from the black box, and that person gets stoned. Jackson uses symbolism, setting and the townspeople to conceal the true theme of the lottery, which…

Words 557 - Pages 3

Similarities Between The Destructors And The Lottery

made. Primarily the meanings behind these stories are called themes. Themes can portray the author’s purpose in writing these stories. In the short fiction story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the theme primarily focuses on the dangers of how people irrationally participate in traditions without second guessing why do they do them, in contrast, to the short fiction story “The Destructors” written by Graham Greene which theme focuses on how people lose their innocence while amid destructions…

Words 880 - Pages 4

The Lottery Setting Analysis

think of a lottery is it generally in a positive aspect of winning a prize? Was that the case here? Did those who did not have their name drawn actually win another year of life only to be tortured by having to revisit this ritual again and again on an annual basis? In this paper I will inspect some of the symbolism, irony and situational settings used by the author Shirley Jackson to try to give a better understanding and insight into her mind and motives behind the writing of “The Lottery”. The overall…

Words 1901 - Pages 8

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

Similarities Between Shirley Jackson And Flannery O Connor

O’Connor’s stories that we are talking about “The Lottery” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” have a lot of similarities like the way they use their religious lifestyle to influence how the stories plot moves. Shirley Jackson uses an extensive amount of symbolism as well as characters names to foreshadow the inevitable. Flannery O’Connor is more involved with imagery to foretell the inevitable once again. Shirley Jackson uses the box in the lottery to show cultural customs from an earlier period. While…

Words 1416 - Pages 6