Conformity in The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Essay

Shirley Jackson’s twisted story, “The Lottery,” takes place in a small town with a measly population of about 300 people. In the story, Tessie Hutchinson, a well-known civilian in the town is one of the 300 people with their lives at risk when the annual Lottery is held. The lottery is a system of selecting a family, then selecting a member of that family to be killed. In this town, and probably everywhere else in the world, no one wants to be the one to die. The reason why the lottery is held is unknown, as the text has not explicitly stated a reason. A possible lesson that “The Lottery” promotes is that selfishness is human nature. Selfishness by itself can be so overpowering that it

Tradition is a large part of life today, but decades ago it was almost a way of life and if it was not followed there were stiff consequences. The story is misleading by the title because of the normal thought of a lottery is something positive or a giveaway. The story is quite the opposite of the common thought. The main point that Jackson shows in “The Lottery” is that people can be involved with such a violent act and think nothing of it. In the story all the people are happy, “they stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.”(Jackson 124). The tradition the village seams at first to be a happy scene, but later learn that it is a terrible event that is a

Jackson’s use of describing the town, the friendly language among the villagers and the presentation of the lottery as an event, illustrate the lottery as a fun and joyful event with a sense of excitement in the air. Although it seemed as though all was well, the latter part of the story implied that underneath the characters ordinary appearance and demeanor, there may be a pure evil lingering inside waiting to come out. This evil does in fact come out, when the “lucky winner” gets stoned to death by the rest of the villagers and even by loved ones. This adherence to ritual and the willingness to blindly follow those around them show the lack or want of change within a society. This is evident when Old Man Warner disagrees with Mr. Adams regarding the change in the North village, “Pack of crazy fools, listening to the young folks, nothing is good enough for them” (Jackson 136). They are so set in their ways, that even the thought of change gets them angry. We are led

The only person who is proud of the lottery happening is the old man who has been in it for 77 years and he hasn’t been chosen. He says a statement that has a certain meaning pertaining to the lottery. The lottery in June, corn will be heavy soon. That statement makes me feel the lottery is a superstition to make crops grow in the town. Other people don’t fully explain what the benefits for picking and stoning someone to death is they, just do it.

The lottery in “The Lottery” is not a lottery for great winnings with one winner; it is a lottery for life with one loser. The lottery is a long standing tradition in the village. Old Man Warner recalls “Seventy-seventh year I have been in the lottery.” (Jackson in Kennedy and Gioia, p. 254) Though “much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded,” (Jackson in Kennedy and Gioia, p. 252). Mr. Summers, the administrator of the lottery, gives directions to the nervous participants; “Now, I’ll read the names-heads of families first-and the men come up and take a paper out of the box.

In The Lottery, year after year, even since Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was a child, the same ritual has gone on. It is as if the community never learns from its prior mistakes. As long as no one in the town speaks up about such a twisted yearly event, nothing is ever going to change. If Martin Luther King wouldn’t have raised his voice against the prejudice that he had experienced throughout his entire life, we might still be living in a segregated world, which was once thought to be “okay.” This is somewhat similar to The Lottery, in which the townspeople are brainwashed into believing that this ritual is normal. For instance, Old Man Warner is outraged when he hears that the north village might give up the lottery, calling them “a pack of crazy fools.” Even little Davie

In Shirly Jackson’s “The Lottery” the people of a small village all partake in what is called a lottery. While the reader studies this story, it is concealed what the winner receives for a prize. After all the villagers talk among themselves the winner is revealed and rewarded with a beating by rocks from the people. After this shocking prize is discovered by the reader a question begs to be answered, “why do they continue this inhumane ritual?”

On a beautiful summer’s day, a town of villagers have assembled in the town’s square to conduct the lottery. It is not clear at this point why this traditional gathering has taken place. The impression that someone may win a prize or gift may be envisioned. As the story progresses, subtle hints are dropped that something is amiss. Ironically, the image of perfection no longer holds true to this small town once the “winner” is revealed and stoned to death. The mob mentality of the town is unveiled as they all partake in the barbaric tradition. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses aspects of the lottery to suggest how dangerous it is to blindly follow tradition.

“The Lottery is a short story that takes place in a town in New England. The story has nothing to do with an actual raffle, but instead refers to expiration of life. Once a year everyone in town comes together as a community to decide who will be pelted to death, as has occurred annually for many years. The attitude of the townspeople seems almost joyous. There seems to be no remorse for the

The lottery the setting is in a small town. Every year a lottery is held in the village. The villagers would gather early morning on a clear and bright day June 27th for this town lottery. One person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. The lottery is symbolic story. Every event that occurs in the lottery represents a meaning. The symbolic ritual tradition of the lottery happens every year, an unquestioned culture event. The lottery is ongoing in the village because no one critically addresses the information or to question the tradition. In the story Shirley Jackson uses names and objects to reveal the true meanings about lottery.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson made its first appearance in the New Yorker in 1948. Many people classify this short story as a horror story, even though there is not anything actually scary about it. “The Lottery” tells a story of a village that holds a yearly lottery to find a winner; however, the winner of this lottery does not win money like the title would insinuate. The winner of the lottery wins the right to be stoned to death by everybody in the village. Nobody in the village knows why they still participate in this lottery, but it has become a tradition to them. The theme of this short story is tradition, and it is displayed through three literary devices used throughout the story: foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony.

The greed for wealth and materialistic objects is an intrinsic component of human nature. It plays a crucial role as motivation for one to work to achieve financial success. However, when one singularly focuses on money and ignores all else, their greed becomes detrimental to their state of mind. People whose ambitions revolve solely around becoming wealthy and successful often ignore other aspects of life that are equally important for happiness, including relationships, health, and personal freedom. As a result, those who manage to obtain material success often find that they are not fulfilled by their riches, and seek to become even more wealthy; however, they can never achieve true satisfaction when they are in this cycle of avarice.

In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, tells the story of a small town that gathers once a year to do a lottery. This isn’t your typical lottery. In this lottery the winner loses instead of winning. The winner is stoned to death as a part of “tradition”. The town people blindly follow this tradition and are unwilling to change. Tradition is one of the main themes in this story and it should be left alone.

'The Rocking-Horse Winner' by D.H. Lawrence is a shockingly disturbing tale of materialism, wealth, and a mother's absent affection for her children. The family in the story is constantly lured by the sweet temptation of sin. Although the story doesn't directly speak about religion, it is obvious that the family is Christian from the references to Christmas (481) and to God (482). In this story, Lawrence depicts several of the most devious sins of mankind according to religious, particularly Christian, doctrine: greed, sexual deviance, and gambling. The theme of sin is subtly interwoven throughout the short tale by the representations and portrayals of these acts, and Lawrence also makes it

In a work of literature that holds such a large emphasis on tradition, it should come as no surprise that family is a large factor as well. However, in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the ties that family binds one with can seem almost restrictive. The ritualistic tradition of the lottery, in which members of the community draw lots to see who wins, has long been a part of their society. So much so, that it is seen as a normal part of their lives and anyone who questions it, is deemed as a “pack of crazy fools” by Old Man Warner because “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 413). The fact that this society blindly follows such ancient traditions, tests the bonds of loyalty in family, especially when one takes into account that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death.