Irony In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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.

A literary device element that was used in “The Lottery” was setting. Setting from the story relates to the theme of false hopes. As it developed throughout the article, it shows that it took place during the summer time in June in a small village of 300 people. The description of the day states that it “ Was clear and sunny, fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green”(Jackson 1). The quote relates to the theme of false hopes because when you read this you think it is going to be a nice day and good things are going to happen. In reality this is a day that most do not look forward to, and a day that carries the tradition of death.

The idea of winning a lottery is associated with luck, happiness and anticipation of good things. In Shirley Jackson's story, " The Lottery", this is not the case. The irony of the story is that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death by everyone else in the town. The story is very effective because it examines certain aspects of human nature.

     The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant

    "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

The Lottery is another story of a seemingly perfect town that sacrifices one for the sake of many, but in this instance, the sacrifice is in vain because it is just a superstitious tradition. The citizens of this town were blinded by tradition and rituals of the town even though many have forgotten why they do the lottery. Jackson shows this when she wrote, “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (The Lottery 1). It likens these common and cheerful events such as dances and Halloween programs to the sacrificing of an innocent person to better their year. The village seemed so calm and peaceful, but they were still inclined to sin and did not feel much guilt when stoning. The Lotter depicts a dystopian society because a person is being immorally killed every year and no one is stopping it. The event has become dull and repetitive but is still being followed by the families in The Lottery. This theme is very common in dystopian societies and is shown in the evilness of the Lottery.

Many authors use irony to make their writings more diverse, as well as to intensify the literary elements in the story. Shirley Jackson, writer of “The Lottery”, does this in her stories in order to leave the reader in suspense and confusion with her use of situational irony. She also uses dramatic irony to give the story a grotesque twist and to cause the reader more confusion about the characters’ morals. Verbal irony is used to intensify characterization as well as give the reader an insight into the true beliefs of those in the village. The use of irony in all three forms throughout the story adds an intensity to the development of many literary elements throughout the story.

In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” she uses many examples of irony. Irony is the use of words that are the opposite of their usual meaning or what is expected to happen. The use of irony plays an important role in delivering Jackson’s sarcasm. The author holds our attention all throughout the story and builds our suspense by using irony with the characters and events that take place. Some instances of irony that she uses during the story to hold our attention are: The title, the weather, the stones, the lunch and even some of the characters.

The actions of young boys, the lottery items and rituals, and the crowds increasing nervousness demonstrates Shirley Jackson's skillful use of foreshadowing in the short story "The Lottery" to show the danger of blindly following tradition.

This is ironic because winning the lottery in this case is a bad thing. Another example of irony, is the description of the setting. The day the lottery takes place is "clear and sunny" (289). This type of weather would normally be associated with something good or happy. The irony in this statement is that the beautiful day that is depicted, ultimately ends in a brutal death.

Jackson uses her character’s dialogue as a way of giving the reader little background information regarding the lottery without truly revealing the true intent of the town’s event. The town is a farming community as one can infer from a saying made up by the residence “Lottery in June, the corn be heavy soon.” This can provide the reader with the thought that the lottery is a positive occasion assists the framers crop in growing. There are several other statements made which provide the lottery with a positive connotation. Such as when the men are talking about the harvest and one states, “Guess the lottery ought to change our luck.”

Mr.Summer's name is ironic because summer is a season full of life. While Mr.Summers organizes the lottery which kills people. The title “The Lottery” is ironic because when you hear that someone won the lottery you ask how much? Where as this lottery you don't win a money instead you win rocks thrown at you. The opening description of the town is misleading because it makes the setting a beautiful, war, and welcoming place. Where the townspeople are average Joe working, and the woman talking. “...clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day, the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green...” Instead the townspeople have a dark ritual where a “winner” is chosen, and then stoned to death.

I thought the story was on the slow side for me. The plot isn’t a difficult one to grasp a hold of. In my mind it comes off as a setting in an early colonization time, almost like a beginning America. I can kind of see in my mind a pilgrim early settler type clothing probably being worn. The title defiantly has a bit of irony in it. The lottery is not something you want to “win”.

The authors use of irony is prevalent throughout her story The Lottery, as it is full of twists for the reader to enjoy. The way the characters interact, the setting and time of events, and the plot

Straightaway “The Lottery” is about following the crowd, for example all the people in the village followed what the previous generation did which was the lottery. Also the people in the village talk about how they don’t know why they do the lottery but we do “It’s a tradition”. The winner of the lottery gets stoned to death which is not the right thing to do. This goes back to how doing the right thing is not the easiest path.