...Most of the time, if you win the lottery, it is good, but not in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The setting of the story is a small town in New England. The small town comes together every year for a unique tradition. Why I like “The Lottery” is because the foreshadowing, the irony, plus the conflicts. There are two good examples of foreshadowing in “The Lottery”. The first one is when the kids are playing with the rocks. At first we just think that it is innocent play until we find out what the stones are used for in the story. The second one is when Tessie shows up late, it set her apart from the crowd. “The Lottery” has amazing examples of irony in its story. The first irony it the title of the story....
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...d, y" February 2, 2015 Young Goodman Brown & The Lottery A review of both stories In this essay I will take the time to review two stories both of the fiction nature. I will discuss the conflicts of both stories as well as the plot structure. I will talk about the characters and give my point of view. Both stories are very thought provoking which should make this very interesting to compare and contrast. In the story of “Young Goodman Brown” we can understand the setting from what the limited omniscient narrator is describing to us. The reader gets a visual of a spooky setting of dark woods in the nearby town of Salem. The first thing a reader would think of when they hear the word/place “Salem” is witches. So automatically becomes a Halloween type of feel. It is then discussed that the story takes place during the time of the witch trials. It is not spoken as to what season this takes place, but with the visual you get the reader can assume its fall. The forest, the time of the story and the location of Salem helps to make this story very believable. In “The Lottery,” we getting a different visual. As the reader the image you create of the setting describes is a small village in a small town in a very rural areal. The feeling you get from the setting described is a feeling of everything revolving around the good harvest of their crops. The author paints a setting of a town of people doing a lottery that you feel in the beginning may be an exciting time with...
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...consideration of taste, decency, politeness, manners, civility. Anything. It’s such a powerful force.” “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson about a woman who becomes singled out in her society due to a random selection. On the other hand, The Hunger Games is a movie directed by Gary Ross about a girl who must fight for her life while keeping everything she believes in. After reading “The Lottery” and watching The Hunger Games, the conflict throughout the two is very comparable while the protagonists, and how they resolve their conflicts, are contrastable. The conflict presented in “The Lottery” and The Hunger Games are alike in many ways. The Hutchinson’s awaiting their...
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...CONFLICTS BETWEEN TWO NOVELS A paper Presented to Professor Zuidema Liberty University Lynchburg, VA. ENG 102_B17 By Gordon C. Wilson June 4, 2012 Outline Introduction: The introduction would speak a little about how compare and contrast could have an impact on our understanding of the novels. My thesis would also go here and speak of tension and brutality as similarities and the outcome as the difference between the novels. Body 1: The paragraph after the thesis would describe how tension that a reader has deals with conflicts that are bound to happen. It would also describe the similarities the two novels have with tension. Body 2: How the two novels are similar dealing with brutality. This would describe the danger and harm put toward characters and objects. Body 3: This deals with the contrast of the two novels. Outcome: - losing a human -losing a home Conclusion: In the conclusion, I would sum everything up. Conflict: -Tension -Brutality -outcome of both novels Compare and contrast essay’s are when you emphasize similarities and differences between two sources. These essay’s give readers clear understanding of specific information that may have not been noticeable while reading the text.(Baack) These essay’s can also reveal the theme, irony, and...
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... Comparison and Contrast between “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the two writers uses symbolism, characterization, and conflict to illustrate the hidden dark side of mankind in normal people. The characters in the stories struggle with the conflict between good and evil. To stress the theme of both stories, symbols are applied as a tool for the development of the story. Hawthorne applies objects and names to intensify the theme and Jackson uses names to bring out his theme. Young Goodman Brown sees the conflict with evil and society. The protagonists of this story deals with Satan on a personal level. He lets the evil take over his faith and beliefs, and also realizes some important people in his life can portrait evil. As he says, “My faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. “There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name (Hawthorne, 1835). He loses faith in the many people he once looked up to, after witnessing his wife and townspeople perform a sacrifice in the dead of night. The experience distorts his view of good in people, and leaves him feeling uneasy and abandoned. In the Lottery, they also had the conflict of good and evil in society. In an annual lottery, together, friends and family would draw a piece of paper for the black box until one of them picks the paper with the black...
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...102 Conflict in Two Times In the short stories, The Lottery, and The Destructors, there are many parallels to be found. Both accounts share a common theme of despair and evil. Similarly, each short story is in the third person point of view which allows the reader to gain insight into what the characters are doing in an objective manner. Even though the events told are set in very different settings and eras, both tales still show that man is a sinner and, without God’s grace, can carry out dreadful deeds, like murder. “The Lottery” is a short story in which the theme of despair and fear is predominant. The story is set in a small town were the people are slowly drawing names for a horrible prize. “A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat…” (Jackson, 1948) This quote shows the fear and tenseness surrounding the setting of drawing names and the reader knows something horrible is looming. The plot begins to thicken as the people continue to draw from the hat. Jackson expresses this with statements such as “Seems like we were just doing this last week,” and “Time sure goes fast.” (Jackson, 1948) The fear not only continues to grow but as the reader one is completely wrapped up in what drastic thing is going to happen. This unknown ending is found in many short stories, such as “The Destructors”, where the reader is shocked by what happened. The characters play an important role in bringing out the conflict to the reader...
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...shown and explained in this essay. In Lamb To The Slaughter by Roald Dahl Mary Maloney is faced with an internal conflict. She is at war with herself when she finds out her happy home is not happy and about to disappear all together. She solves this conflict by killing her husband. "Her first instinct was not to believe any of it. She thought that perhaps she'd imagined...
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...is just as bad as a big sin. That’s what you taught me. What all those people thought before the Crash—that their cars and machines and books each only destroyed a little air so it didn’t matter.’ (pg. 15) The author has intentionally developed the setting, characters, conflict and plot to be greatly influenced by the theme of climate change; as this is made evident to the reader, whom is forced to question one’s own ethics. ‘The Breadwinner’, by Leslie Halward is a short story set in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The story revolves around a poor family of three; in whom the family’s only source of income is through their fourteen year-old son’s wages. Halward creates a vivid impression of each character and their relationship and interaction within the setting, through the use of detailed descriptions...
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...The Lottery Symbolism, Imagery & Allegory Sometimes, there’s more to Lit than meets the eye. The Lottery The lottery is like an 800-pound gorilla of symbols in this story. It's in the title, for Pete's sake. Where do we even begin? Well, let's start with the lottery as a way of upsetting reader expectations. After all, communities across America practice different annual traditions – Easter egg hunts (with origins in early fertility rituals), Christmas tree decorating (check out those patron trees of the Germanic tribes), or July 4th fireworks (well, that one just celebrates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence ...). Anyway, our point is that we're all comfortable with yearly rituals – and it's often not widely known how these celebrations began. See how tradition obscures the history of public ritual? Anyway, back to the lottery. So, we associate lotteries with good things (winning cash prizes!) and annual celebrations also seem pleasant. We talk about this in "What's Up With the Title?" so we'll just say here that, like the blooming, cheerful village itself, there's nothing in the lottery that immediately suggests anything is wrong with this set-up. The lottery is, in fact, operating as an allegory of village life itself: at first, it seems harmless, but then we start to wonder what's going on with all the subdued smiles and piles of stones. So, if the lottery is an allegory of the community, its rules and proceedings must in some way correspond to real-life...
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...The Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner Dashua Murphy Liberty University Online Fiction Essay Thesis Statement: While “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” differs on some levels, both stories carry the theme of death as a sacrifice for greater gain. 1) Need a. “The Lottery”: the village needs to uphold a cruel tradition to ensure a bountiful harvest b. “The Rocking-Horse Winner”: Paul needs to get “lucky” to satisfy the never ending needs of his mothers “unluckiness” 2) Unhealthy Support systems a. In “The Lottery” many of the villagers unconsciously support the cruel tradition of stoning one of its members for a better harvest b. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” Bassett and Uncle Oscar unwittingly attribute to Paul’s failing of health and considerable need to stay “lucky” 3) Ritual practices a. The lottery is conducted yearly to select the “winner” who will become the “sacrificial lamb” that will preserve the life of the village b. Paul madly rides his rocking horse on a journey to where “luck” is until he receives an answer for who the winning horse will be in the next race 4) Untimely Death a. Tessie is stoned to death after her husband selects the slip of paper that has the “black spot” and her family has to re-draw for the “winning” ticket b. Paul dies as a result of pursuing an answer for his greatest and most rewarding Derby gamble 5) Real World * “Jackson” declared the purpose of “The Lottery” had been “to shock the stories readers...
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...February 2, 2014 Comparative Fiction Essay In many ways the most influential element of a work of literature can prove to be the characters that the author creates. In the instance of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” the characters are built and the story is wrapped around the individual characterizations. In both Jackson’s and Lawrence’s short stories the reader is allowed to assume any of the possible details to fill in the missing parts of the story. It is not until the end that the reader understands that the characters were giving away the ending the throughout the story. Along with the relationships established, the dialogue and simply executed actions of the main characters the story begins to unfold. The family and friends that are closest to the main character tends to make the story. In both cases of “The Lottery” and “ The Rocking Horse Winner” the extras of the short stories help to reveal the main characters real attitude, honest behavior, and their transparent emotions. In “The Lottery” it is evident that the characters closest to the main character can easily fall in line with the rest of society; in “The Rocking Horse Winner” family and friends can do all they can to help and still not be enough. In “The Lottery”, Jackson begins by setting the up the events that will inevitable come to pass. A few characters are introduced towards the beginning but who they are is not as important as their actions. Following the imagery...
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...a world that is full of self-centered people that are only looking out for themselves and what benefits them. Besides that, they have no true value of other humans life as long as it is not effecting their own. Of course it is wrong, but it seems that as time continues it just gets worse and worse. Will it ever stop? Probably not and that is what’s scary. The two stories “The Lottery” and “The Most Dangerous Game” both exemplify characteristics of selfishness, violence and cruelty throughout different scenarios. Both stories are ones which could happen in today’s world, they may not be the most common situations, but they are very much possible. Comparing and contrasting these two stories, it becomes quite interesting how these are things that could very easily be real life because people like these characters do exist. The news is a reminder everyday and even in the Bible, there are so many instances where these acts are frowned upon. To not kill is even one of the Ten Commandments. Life is by far the most precious gift that we have been given from God, when he asks for so little in return. “The Lottery” and “The Most Dangerous Game” show how low and deceiving humans can truly be. They show us that people are capable of very hateful things and you never know when they may turn their back on you. That is why a good relationship with God...
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...1. What associations does the word “lottery” have for you? Did this effective how you read the story originally? How and why? The word “lottery” to me has only one meaning, to win something of great value and to basically have a good outcome of whatever it is that you win. Winning the lottery has to do with being lucky and having people envious of you. When I read the title of the story I started reading it with the intentions of someone having enough luck to win something of great value, but I started to think that there had to be some kind of con to winning it. I just assumed that “The Lottery” was going to be about good fortune but with an ending that wasn’t what the reader was expecting because it is seldom that I read anything that has to do with all good and no bad. 2. Why does Jackson begin the story with such a glorious description of the town? I think Jackson’s intent was to put the reader at ease, make them think of the most perfect scenario of a town. I believe that she did this just to catch the readers off guard and add some shock to the story. I thought it portrayed the scenario as “a great day to be alive” 3. To what degree has the lottery been kept a tradition in this society? How does it seem almost religious? Use specific examples from the text to discuss how the lottery is religious. The lottery is a tradition in the ways that they prepare for it, and the same box that they use every time and the process of the drawing how the head of the house goes...
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..."The Lottery" vs. "Young Goodman Brown" ENG 102. Literature and Composition Spring 2016 Paola Galan L24700309 MLA Thesis and Outline "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals that nothing is at seems to be. Both stories portray the evil and good sides of human character. Introduction Thesis statement The Lottery • Peaceful and relaxing environment • influences on people by the tradition • Stoning of Tessie Young Goodman Brown • Commitment to Jesus and his wife • Journey of life to the right and wrong path • Dream or true Conclusion In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses third person narration to describe how accepted events can lead to barbaric consequences when people do not stop to consider their actions. Nathanial Hawthorne also uses third person narration in "Young Goodman Brown," but he does so in a very different way. The essential difference between the ways that these two stories work is that Jackson attempts to produce a reaction inside the reader while Hawthorne attempts to explain inner conflict by delving into his character's thoughts. Both authors use their stories to encourage readers to question their beliefs, their actions, and the world around them, but they achieve this goal with differing techniques. Jackson never overtly states that the townspeople...
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...People tend to follow tradition based on their upbringing and the environment they were raised in without considering the purpose behind the tradition. Since the tradition of picking a person to sacrifice among the townspeople has been around for decades, the townspeople have accepted this tradition as part of who they are rather than trying to understand the true meaning behind it. The author states that “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago,” (Jackson 243) but the villagers continue to pointlessly follow the tradition. If the townspeople really cared about the purpose and reasoning behind the lottery, they would have made an attempt to carry on all of the procedures and the specifics of the ceremony. In addition to the townspeople not maintaining the events that came before picking the lottery, they also did not want to improve upon the tradition. Mr. Summers suggests “making a new box”, however, no one seemed interested in doing so, because “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson 243). The townspeople’s failure to understand the intension of the tradition shows that unevaluated tradition usually leads to double standards. Jackson demonstration of neglect of maintenance and loathing of tradition obviously shows that the townspeople fail to consider the...
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