...Tradition can be a wonderful thing, it can bring entire social groups together with the potential of bettering their society. Tradition however can be a terrible thing at the same time, taking primitive thoughts and ideas, and turning them into harmful actions. When does tradition go too far? Is it when the people are killing off their loved ones based on the ideas of a leader whose only true power is arbitrary? Shirley Jackson showcases the danger of blindly following tradition through her book The Lottery, showing that danger is never perceived by those who follow it unconditionally. The Lottery at the beginning of the story appears as if nothing is wrong, children play, wives are gossiping and men are playfully joking on an average day...
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...“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (132). Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a tale that showcases a strange yearly tradition within a small town where neither the children nor the elderly are exempt from participating. Throughout the story, Jackson lures readers into a false sense of serenity with her title where she then proceeds to illustrate a peculiar and perhaps merciless gathering of the townspeople participating in their annual lottery event. The most brutal and barbaric part of the short story written by Jackson is the manner of death that is used on the “winner” of the lottery. While no specific time period is given, one can still see from...
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...In ‘The Lottery’, Jackson presents a tradition in 1948 the same habit happens nowadays in which some of which they are used for entertainment and in others as a way of execution. For instance, in Spain, there is such a pointless tradition what they refer to as the “Bull run.” In this festival, the citizens will wear red to attract bulls then take them to the arena for a chase run which leaves a few deaths and injuries. This seems to be a stupid tradition. Another habit is that of the tradition of Egyptians in which they will sacrifice to the Nile when it breaks its banks and goes crazy. They throw the most beautiful girl in Egypt to the river to calm it down, which is a very stupid and pointless tradition which ought to be stopped. In the story of Omelas, it depicts the contemporary society we are living in which many have chosen to use the suffering of others for their happiness. In simple terms, this is the ideology of capitalism that is evident in the society in which the poor and middle class are exploited in terms of labor. This happens to ensure ends meet for the rich business owners and investors yet the poor are used as a means for them to obtain wealth (Cooper & Laura, 72)....
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...The short story “The Lottery” represents the annual tradition of the community to stone or purge one of their people. They choose one of the people living in the village by letting them draw the paper out of the black box and whoever gets the paper with some marks on it will be the chosen one. Some people in this town seems to dislike this annual tradition and wanting it to stop and some people just doesn’t care at all. However, there is no one speaking up for this to happen. This annual tradition will have the chance to stop if there are people who can speak up and stop it. The story shows that people are blind and mute, not literally, because they see what is really going on but they just remain silent about it. Even though they heard that...
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...How does your tradition define you? In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson.On a sunny day in a village each year young boys would pile rocks ,and families would gather together.”The Lottery” was a yearly tradition the people in the village had to sacrifice a member of their family.The two characters that stood out to me was tessie hutchinson and Mrs.Delacroix. The main character in the story is Tessie Hutchinson.The day of “The Lottery” She arrived to the gathering forgetting what day it was.She has been so use to the tradition, as soon as she notice nobody was in her sight she ran over to the gathering. Trying to make it through the crowd ,she met with Mrs.Delacroix giggling at one another.As Tessie got closer up she stood beside her family.Everyone got really nervous once Mr.summers started to call names and soon enough he called tessie's husband.Mr hutchinson had the black dot and in that moment tessie changed. Mrs.Delacriox is a friend of tessie, they would laugh and gossip together.As Mrs.hutchinson got to the front Mrs.Delacroix was cheering her on.To take a chance like everybody else is.Being part of the lottery means that there going to have a good harvest and who ever...
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...“The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, is a short story that expresses in depth details about a tradition that is done in a small, rural American village. It is simply about a small community that have some sort or raffle, the male of the family draws a paper and if it has a dot on it then that family is chosen. After the family is chosen, within the family they have to do the raffle and the same procedure is required. Whoever has the dot gets stoned to death. This tradition was okay with Tessie Hutchinson until the role reversed and the lottery started affecting her, the reader is able to tell because she shouted, “it isn't fair, it isn't right” (Shirley Jackson). Based on my reading of the short story, the primary theme is hypocrisy with...
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...In the fiction story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, she write about a town they is preparing for the lottery. In the story the whole town about three hundred people was waiting outside in the square, between the post office and the bank, at ten o'clock. In the story the whole town is waiting for the lottery to be done and every man of the house hold have to get up and het a folded piece of paper from a black box and see if they had won. In the story I thought that Mr. Hutchinson wife, Mrs. Hutchinson would be glad that her family won the lottery however she was not. In paragraph 45 she said "…You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair..." she was complaining that her husband won and I was confuse...
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...Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” was published in a 1948 issue of The New Yorker and this horror story, written about a annual tradition of heinously stoning someone to death, quickly lead to a mass controversy to all who read it. The simple text was quickly and easily written in one afternoon, after Jackson got home from pushing her daughter up the hill in a stroller (Coulthard 227). The normalcy in which “The Lottery was written created a mixed menagerie of reactions from confusion to the extremity of outrage and even hatred. “The Lottery” single handedly turned the entire subscription base against her, which happen to include her own mother. Perhaps because there is no known origin of this ritual in “The Lottery”, there is no character to...
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...Purpose in Relation to Theme APA An Analysis of Author’s Purpose in Relation to Theme Thesis: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence differ in author’s purpose in that Jackson satirizes a society that blindly follows tradition, while Lawrence realistically portrays life’s problems; however, both share the theme of family. I. Jackson’s purpose for writing “The Lottery” is to satirize a society that blindly follows tradition. A. Jackson uses the graphic story to show the audience the brutality in society. B. Jackson’s short story also shows how society victimizes those randomly. II. Lawrence uses “The Rocking-Horse Winner” to highlight life’s problems. A. Paul’s mother, Hester, neglects to give her children the attention that they need and deserve to become healthy adults. B. Lawrence grew up in town where coal-mining was the livelihood. Lawrence’s father worked as a coal miner his whole life and expected his sons to do the same. Lawrence knew from an early age that he would not be a miner. C. Lawrence did not do well in school and was often alone and considered different. III. Both Jackson and Lawrence use their purpose for writing to portray theme. A. The lottery is based on family. Each member of every family are listed and must be present during the lottery. B. In “The Lottery” the unlucky person will experience their family turn against him or her. C. Lawrence uses Paul...
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...Society’s conformation to honor traditions Shirley Jackson’s observation on individuals not questioning the society in 1948, is reflected in the shocking short story. The scope of this literary essay is to examine the use of symbolism, foreshadowing and irony which represent the negative consequence of the lottery. In “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, Jackson uses symbolism, foreshadowing and irony to illustrate how society conforms to honor traditions which are outdated and barbarian. Jackson’s use of objects and names in the story symbolize the religious and symbolic meaning which leads to the brutal death of an innocent. In the story stones are very symbolic as it represents the death of an innocent individual. Stoning is a few methods...
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...between Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Grace Ogot’s The Rain Came <IT>Jaroslav Jan Pelikan once said “Tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living. And, I suppose I should add, it is traditionalism that gives tradition such a bad name.”<> It means that some of traditions which we follow need to be rethought. In simple language, people can’t evaluate their behaviors themselves; thus, they may blindly keep traditions can be harmful to them. There has been a long conflict between the younger and old generation. Older generations want to keep their traditions without changing; furthermore, they believe in inheriting customs like maintaining their ancestor’s spirits. However, the younger generation thinks that if a tradition is harmful to them or need to be prohibited, don’t have to follow it. <TS>Even though Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Grace Ogot’s The Rain Came share noticeable similarities in theme, characters, they have significant differences in setting and atmosphere. TS> The first similarity between Jackson’s The Lottery and Grace Ogot’s The Rain Came is in their themes. <SP>Both these stories have themes of tradition and customs. “The Lottery” tells the story of a tradition practiced by the villagers. No one knows when it started, and no one can guess when it will end. There is a belief inside each story. In the story The Lottery, “lottery in June...
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...Thesis: In Shirley Jackson’s “The lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. In Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. The lottery in this particular story is not used for good fortune but instead is used for death and sacrifice. Jackson combines characters, objects, and actions to create the symbolism. There are many characters, both major and minor, that demonstrate symbolism in this story. Jackson uses seemingly normal people from an apparently normal town. The postman is named Mr. Graves, a name that symbolizes death. He holds a leading role as an official in the lottery. Mr. Summers is another character who holds a major role. His name projects thoughts of summer and the season of life. His name is ironic due to the dark ritual and the part he plays in the lottery. Jackson uses various symbols to portray this grim event along with particular elements that hint towards the ending of the story. The story shows the coldness people can have which can be seen in their values and tradition. The black box is a symbol of the past. The color black represents evil or death. The box embodies the past and shows what’s to come. In the story, the villagers were afraid to even follow Mr. Summer’s idea for making a new box because they did not want to upset tradition. While the lottery was taking place, Mr. Adams said to old man Warner, “over in the north village they are talking about...
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...The Lottery vs the Destructors Thesis In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, and Graham Greene’s “The Destructors”, the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, grim reality, and a ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately showcases how people blindly follow tradition. Outline I. Introduction II. Setting B. Time Period III. Plot A. What messages are seen in both stories IV. Characters A. Main Characters B. Traits of Characters V. Tone of Stories VI. Conclusion Comparison and Contrast of The Lottery and The Destructors W. Goode English102 Liberty University Comparison and Contrast of The Lottery and The Destructors The Lottery and The Destructors are two remarkable representatives of the world literature. The authors of these two literary pieces are Shirley Jackson, and Graham Greene, in accordance, who hide the true meaning of their stories behind ironic depictions and comic pictures. Although The Lottery, as well as The Destructors transports the reader into a particularly different from each other fictional world, characters in these short stories equally undergo influence of their surroundings or society. Shirley Jackson and Graham Greene portrayed a clear picture as to how society might easily and sorely impacted the people that live in it. Thus, heroes of The Lottery and The Destructors remain under the influence of what has taken place around them, and their attitude towards everyday life is...
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...The Lottery: Tradition and Cruelty Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" features a supposedly civilized village with barbaric traditions. At the beginning of the story, the townsfolk appear to be fairly civilized and seem to carry on modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the men at work and the children playing as if it were just an average day. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some seen it as a cruel tradition no one could escape. On the other hand, some had believed that carrying on the tradition was necessary. Not long after "The Lottery" was published in The New Yorker, "a flood of mail - hundreds of letters-deluged both the editorial offices in New York and the post office in Bennington" (Friedman 63). Shirley Jackson said that out of all the letters sent, there were only thirteen that were positive responses, and those were from her friends (63). The letters consisted of "bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse" (63). The public's initial reaction to the story was extremely negative. The fact that the tradition itself is scheduled for 10:00 and it took only two hours shows that there is no concern for the "winner" of the lottery, only for themselves. The villagers had a convenient amount of time so they were able to eat their lunch afterwards and continue their day. The children collected stones, competing against the other children, and tried to keep other friends from stealing rocks from their piles. This most definitely shows that the tradition...
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...Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” By: Melissa A. Reeves Professor Andrew Smith ENGL 102-B46 LUO Thesis Statement The stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” both appear to show that human behavior and judgment can be flawed, even if the person’s intentions appear good to them. There is a level of fear and underlying evil in Puritan settings in both stories. I. Introduction/Statement of Thesis II. Themes and Author’s Purpose A. The Lottery i. Just because something has always been done, does not make it right or just; following the crowd can be dangerously wrong and evil. ii. The author shows through symbolism and storytelling that people can be easily influenced by society and those around them. iii. Also, the themes or persecution is addressed. B. Young Goodman Brown i. The theme is that believing that you are a righteous person does not always make you righteous. ii. The idea of doing one evil thing, but justifying it because it is only one time and he will never do it again and will be a good man afterward is addressed. III. Conclusion Symbolism found within “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” Melissa A. Reeves Liberty University Professor Andrew Smith 08/03/2014 Symbolism is found within both stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown”. In both stories, symbols help in conveying the theme to the reader. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, symbols are used...
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