The Lottery - 832 Words

When one thinks of a lottery, they imagine winning a large sum of money. Shirley Jackson uses the setting in The Lottery to foreshadow an ironic ending. The peaceful and tranquil town described in this story has an annual lottery, and you cant possibly guess what the prize isÂ… The author foreshadows an ironic ending at the very beginning by establishing a cheerful setting. The story occurs around ten oclock on June twenty-seventh, a time of day that is very bright and joyous and a time of year that is warm and makes people feel happy. The towns physical setting also contributes to the overall normal feeling of the story. The grass is described as richly green, and the flowers are blossoming profusely. An ironic†¦show more content†¦From the authors extravagant detailing of the town, one would expect this lottery to be a chance for one lucky family to win some money. Instead, the winners prize is death-by stoning. The portrayal of the residents at the end of the st ory is quite disturbing-- they go about killing the winner ritualistically, trying to finish quickly. They show no empathy at all-- theyre simply following an ancient ritual. The lesson in this story hits pretty hard. The Lotterys relationship to real life is that sometimes we are presented with traditions that have been adhered to for as long as anyone can remember, and we forget the reason these customs were created in the first place. (As Old Man Warner said, Theres always been a lottery.) The problem is that circumstances can change and make these traditions outdated, useless, and even harmful. Think of the women trying to gain suffrage for their gender. If they had just let the tradition of only males voting continue, where would they lie in todays society? We therefore must re-evaluate our traditions, questioning their original purpose; otherwise were just letting ourselves beShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery1112 Words   |  5 PagesPAPER INTERDICIPLINARY LITERATURE â€Å"THE LOTTERY† [pic] Compiled by : Nida Agniya Septiara (F1F010038) Laeli Fadilah (F1F010052) Lisa Ayu Christiana Putri (F1F010022) Yunita Marangin Lumbantoruan (F1F010084) JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY SOCIAL AND POLITICAL SCIENCE FACULTY HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE 2013 INTRODUCTION Read More The Lottery Essay811 Words   |  4 Pagesword lottery, you probably think of winning a large sum of money before being stoned to death. quot; The Lotteryquot; by Shirley Jackson brings this horrible idea to life. While the overall mood of the story depicts a typical day in a small rural town, through great use of imagery and irony, one is set up for an unusual ending. Shirley Jackson uses the element of surprise. The way of the story ends is unlike anyone could predict. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The main object of The Lottery is theRead MoreThe Lottery Essay617 Words   |  3 PagesJacksons most famous short story, quot;The Lotteryquot;. Her insights and observations about man and society are disturbing; and in the case of quot;The Lottery,quot; they are shocking. quot;The themes themselves are not new, evil cloaked in seeming good, prejudice and hypocrisy, loneliness and frustration, psychological studies of minds that have slipped the bonds of realityquot; (Friedman). Literary critic, Elizabeth Janeway wrote that, quot; The Lottery makes its effect without having to stateRead MoreSummary of The Lottery872 Words   |  4 PagesThe short story that this paper will look at is The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It was first published in The New Yorker on 26 June 1948. It is one of the most famous short stories in the history of United States literature history. This paper is a summary of the story from my point of view. The Lottery is a work of fiction that demonstrates rebellion and conformity while insinuating that a lottery is part of a ritualistic ceremony. The author was born in 1919. She struggled with depression throughoutRead MoreThe Lottery Essay938 Words   |  4 Pagesthe lottery, but not its exact purpose. Do the townspeople know? Is this omission significant? Intentional? No, the townspeople do not know the lottery’s exact purpose. This omission is not significant because it seems there is no point in the lottery and why these people are operating such horrid acts. It is more intentional; the townspeople are playing it safe thinking they are keeping a tradition, yet no one seems brave enough to ask why? 3. Why is much of the history of the lottery andRead MoreAnalysis Of The Lottery 1036 Words   |  5 PagesSince reading The Lottery by Shirely Jackson, I’ve been thinking more about culture, traditions, and perspective. Not just that, but how it can sometimes take adopting an unbiased, non judgmental, or outside perspective in order to see things for what they really are. The way that the narrator in this story adopts such a position allows for a clearer view of the events of the story. In The Lottery, the narrator speaks to us in a non participant and objective manner. We hear and see events unfoldRead MoreLottery Is Good or Not1635 Words   |  7 PagesIs lottery a good idea? These days, a lot of people play lottery and spend a certain amount of money on it while few of them earn back what they spend. Someone says lottery is a kind of tax collected by the government on peoples’ luck and desire to be rich. In another aspect, lottery is also gambling, and it could make people to be a millionaire in a night if the person is lucky enough, however, it has a negative effect that it causes inequality, crimes and so on. So lottery is not a positive ideaRead MoreThe Day Of The Lottery1397 Words   |  6 Pagesin a small town are gathering on a warm, beautiful summer day in the square for the lottery. The children, who have just finished school, are playing while waiting on their parents to meet them in the square and are gathering up rocks into a pile off to the side. Everyone enters the square and the parents call their children over to stand with the family. Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, the men who conduct the lottery, arrive in the square with the black box. The box is falling apart and Mr. SummersRead More The Lottery Essay946 Words   |  4 Pages The Message Sent in â€Å"The Lottery† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The shock value of Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† is not only widely known, but also widely felt. Her writing style effectively allows the reader to pass a judgment on themselves and the society in which they live. In â€Å"The Lottery† Jackson is making a comparison to human nature. It is prominent in all human civilizations to take a chance as a source of entertainment and as this chance is taken, something is both won and lost. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;AsRead MoreThe Lottery. The Lottery Has Three Adaptations And Those1428 Words   |  6 PagesThe Lottery The Lottery has three adaptations and those would include the Novel, Film, and Graphic Novel. Out of all three each have a somewhat similar setting and character build but also have a little tweak to each one. Now of course when first reading it I thought the setting was more in the old days but soon I found out it was done in a modern time. Each character has a specific role and they do share a story but out of all the adaptations the graphic novel describes them the best. Of course