Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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“I’m content to stand on tradition. I’m even more content to wipe my feet on it” Aaron Allston. In the short story “The Lottery,” Mr. Summers positions five slips of paper into a box with a big black dot in the middle. The villagers move forward on her, and it becomes apparent that the award for the lottery is a stoning. “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, depicts tradition as something that is preserved even when the tradition being preserved is inadequate. Jackson uses figurative language and literary devices to argue that throughout the years, traditions worldwide are being celebrated without knowing the origins.
“Mr.Summers waited with an expression of polite interest.” As shown in this section, she uses imagery to help the reader

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Traditions In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

think about the lottery, they see it as the answer to their problems. In the past this hasn’t been entirely true. Many past lottery winners say that winning the lottery ruined their lives. The lottery can’t ruin you life, if it takes it. In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery” , she writes about a small town that holds a lottery every year. The “winner” is stoned to death by the rest of the town. This is a tradition that has been around longer than the oldest man in town. Jackson’s use of foreshadowing…

Words 644 - Pages 3

Conformity And Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson tells a tale so dark and twisted that one must ask if we are all capable of committing crimes for the name of conformity and tradition. That the dark side of human nature can be brought out by the need to conform to archaic standards in a way of fitting in and keeping traditions alive. The word lottery should bring the feeling of excitement and anticipation to any town gathering, however, the first two paragraphs of…

Words 864 - Pages 4

The Significance Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story that speaks about an old tradition that a small community takes part in every year. The story follows what goes on during the random selection and the reaction of the townspeople throughout the process. One resident in particular, Tessie Hutchinson arrives late to the lottery, and is about to miss it but in a surprising twist of fate, gets assigned as the “winner”. This causes her to suddenly reject the notion of the lottery and call it unfair as the…

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Blind Obedience To Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson about a small village of around 300 people practicing a tradition or a ritual where all families are initially represented by the heads of their families to participate in a lottery. The irony of this, however, is that in modern culture, a lottery has generally been associated with good luck or to be more specific, a big fortune. Winning the lottery has, in modern America, been associated with winning a huge sum of cash after getting the right…

Words 1652 - Pages 7

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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The Use Of Irony In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, the story of villagers that annually gather to do this tradition of a lottery. In the story, there are several different parts in the story that show the irony and symbolize of the tradition of the village. The irony in Shirley Jackson’s story in the “The Lottery” reveals the contrast between the villagers and the truth about the lottery. The irony of this story begins before the body of the text, what is the story called? It’s called The Lottery and…

Words 240 - Pages 1

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

Tradiotion or Cruelty Essay

Tradition or Cruelty "The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice. The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred towns people. On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate. Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice. As the story begins,…

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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…

Words 619 - Pages 3