Christina Bajakian
Mr. Hammersmith
English 102-015
18 September 2014
Hypocrisy in The Lottery
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, is a suspenseful story that begins on a pleasant morning in June, but it quickly shifts into a morbid display of tradition. The characters display a sudden change in loyalty to each other once one of the town member’s names is drawn from the “black box”. Through this action, along with several other vivid examples from the text, Jackson cultivates an underlying theme of hypocrisy and the evil of human nature.
In the introduction, Jackson uses a tranquil and jovial tone. She gives the reader the impression that it is a mundane day in a small town by opening with “the morning of June 27th was clear and sunny,
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Delacroix displays an act of hypocrisy when Mr. Delacroix draws from the “black box” and she is only nervous on her own behalf. She fears for her own life and not for the life of her children or husband. Tessie Hutchinson demonstrates a parallel action when her husband Bill draws the “winning” lottery ticket. Tessie then protests, “You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!"(75). This brings up the question if Tessie is merely defending her husband or if she is primarily concerned that her own life is being threatened. In addition, Tessie also yells "There's Don and Eva, make them take their chance!" to which Mr. Summer replies, “Daughters draw with their husbands' families, Tessie, You know that as well as anyone else."(75). This further fortifies the argument that the characters in “The Lottery” are hypocrites because Tessie is willing to have her own children be stoned to death before herself. In addition, this quote also exposes the true evil of human nature and what people are willing to sacrifice in order to save …show more content…
Delacroix demonstrations an additional act of hypocrisy immediately before Tessie is stoned to death. “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up." (77). This can be perceived to be an act of hypocrisy because Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie were good friends in the beginning of the story, but once Tessie “won” the lottery Mrs. Delacroix revealed her true colors. It also can be noted that Mrs. Delacroix desired for Tessie to be stoned because “she selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” (77). Mrs. Delacroix was inclined to kill one of her best friends and this shows her hypocrisy and the evil of human
Shirley Jackson is often regarded as one of the most brilliant authors of the twentieth century. Born in San Francisco in 1916, she spent the majority of her adolescence writing short stories and poetry (Allen). While she is known best for her supernatural stories, one of her most popular works is a short story called “The Lottery”. The lottery takes place in a small village in which once a year on June 24th, the town population is gathered. After the gathering, there is a drawing to see which family is chosen, after the family is chosen, another drawing takes place to see who is stoned to death. In the New Yorker's magazine book review hailed “The Lottery” as “one of the most haunting and shocking short stories of modern America and is one of the most frequently anthologized” (Jackson). This review stems heavily from Jackson’s brilliant use of irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing. However, perhaps what truly stands out is how Jackson is able to wrap all of those elements together as a way to show an overarching theme of the corruption that exists in human nature. While the real source of “The Lottery’s” inspiration is unclear, there has been heavy speculation that the roots lie heavily in the actions of the holocaust and the actions that took place during World War II. Regardless of the source material, a general consensus can be made that the plot of the lottery is a dark reflection of human actions.
With the very first words, Jackson begins to establish the environment for her plot. To begin, she tells the reader that the story takes place on an early summer morning. This helps in providing a focus of the typicality of this small town, a normal rural
"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 denizens. 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. Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about. Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective
Within the first few lines of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" we are faced with such adjectives as clear, sunny, fresh and warmth. She goes on to paint a picture of small children just out of school for the summer, as the townspeople gather for the annual Lottery. This leads us to believe that the rest of the story is as cheery as the summer day initially described. We as the readers are virtually unaware of the horrible senseless events that lie ahead. Through the use of symbolism Shirley Jackson reveals the underlying decay of ethics that results from an empty ritual followed by narrow-minded people.
Shirley Jackson’s famous short story, “The Lottery,” was published in 1948 and remains to this day one of the most enduring and affecting American works in the literary canon. “The Lottery” tells the story of a farming community that holds a ritualistic lottery among its citizens each year. Although the text initially presents audiences with a close-knit community participating in a social event together on a special day, the shocking twist at the work’s end—with the death of the lottery’s “winner” by public stoning—has led to its widespread popularity, public outcry and discussion, and continued examination in modern times (Jackson). One potential critical theory that can be applied to Jackson’s “The Lottery” is the reader-response
In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.
When a loving, caring, family oriented, women come in conflict with the horrible, despicable, inhumane lottery in a situation in which the town goes together, the results may be a terrible end in a young life. In “The Lottery” written by, Shirley Jackson, the main character Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson’s and the town folk are the main characters of this story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses the use of characterization to portray the main ideas of the story. Shirley Jackson also uses the use of plot structure and the point of view in which the story is being told. The Lottery is a way to make a sacrifice for a good harvest in the upcoming season.
In the beginning of the story the author (Shirley Jackson) starts the story off by describing the scenery of a town in which the town is richly green and the people are starting to gather together. In the text it states, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock” Carefully crafting words in the quotation such as fresh warmth and village began to gather creates the illusion that there is going to be an event which is rather
“A stone hit her on the side of the head. "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her” (34). “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson which, sparked controversy when published in the June 26, 1948 issue of the New Yorker. Jackson used several different literary devices to support her theme that people who don’t question tradition get what they deserve. The literary devices Jackson uses to support the theme of ‘The Lottery’ are irony, foreshadowing, and pacing.
Often, we paint a fairytale view of life for ourselves and our children. Sometimes, an author paints a frightfully realistic picture of life and forces us to reconsider the fairytale. In Shirley Jackson’s story, "The Lottery," a town each year conducts a lottery in which the winner or looser, in this case, is stoned to death by his or her own neighbors. The tradition is supposed to uphold social structure within the town, but in order to comprehend the true meaning of the story you must be able to read between the lines. "The Lottery" is a story about a town that has let its traditions go too far. Also, it is clear that the story contains eye-opening facts that lead me to
At this point in time, not only does Tess get frowned upon because she is late on such an important day, but she is now being judged by her neighbors as someone who should not be a part of their community. Due to the fact, that she comes off as way too eager at the lottery for someone her age, essentially, but it also seems as though she is not very attentive when it comes to the rules of the lottery and its’ tradition that it is trying to enforce. Another example of how Tess stands out is when she tells her husband, Bill Hutchinson, who gets called to go and draw a name to go and, “get up there, Bill” (434). This short statement from Tess ends up causing the people around her to laugh, which essentially makes her stand out from the rest once again. Tess’s eagerness to see the lottery in the beginning, mirrors how desperate she becomes when she trys to get out of the event itself when she ends up getting picked.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story littered with warnings and subtext about the dangers a submissive society can pose. While the opening is deceptively cheery and light Jackson uses an array of symbols and ominous syntax to help create the apprehensive and grim tone the story ends with. Her portrayal of the town folk as blindly following tradition represents the world during World War II when people’s failure to not mindlessly accept and heed authority lead to disastrous consequences. . Shirley Jackson uses a large array of techniques to help convey the idea that recklessly following and accepting traditions and orders can lead to disastrous consequences.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson was written in 1948. The story takes place in a village square of a town on June 27th. The author does not use much emotion in the writing to show how the barbaric act that is going on is look at as normal. This story is about a town that has a lottery once a year to choose who should be sacrificed, so that the town will have a plentiful year for growing crops. Jackson has many messages about human nature in this short story. The most important message she conveys is how cruel and violent people can be to one another. Another very significant message she conveys is how custom and tradition can hold great power over people. Jackson also conveys the message of
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, the small village, at first, seems to be lovely, full of tradition, with the townspeople fulfilling their civic duties, but instead this story is bursting with contrast. The expectations that the reader has are increasingly altered. The title of this short story raises hope, for in our society the term “lottery” typically is associated with winning money or other perceived “good” things. Most people associate winning a lottery with luck, yet Jackson twists this notion around and the luck in this village is with each of the losers.
Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” is about a bizarre ritual performed in a town in which the townspeople proceed to follow every year. In a black, worn box they place all the names of the community. Once all the names are placed inside, Mr. Summers draws a name. After the name is chosen, this member will be stoned to death by the others in the community. Tessie Hutchinson in the story tries to reject the repetitive tradition of the lottery.