Literary Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In her text “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to develop the central idea that people’s real nature is inhumanity and they follow the traditions that develop this inhuman nature of their. By the end of the story, the narrator has come to the understanding that people are no longer humans they are savages and “The Lottery” that they do every summer is just as violent as their true nature. Even though “The Lottery” start innocently, it’s begin to change when the author gives us a small clues about the purpose of “The Lottery”. As people read the story they may not notice an author's clues about the way the story goes, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of

Accordingly, "The Lottery" is a tale that is difficult to set aside. It is a story that every reader might feel both love and hatred. The story has the inner power that would probably create an emotion to everyone who plans to read it. In this analysis we will be able to know what figurative language that the author used and the unique theme of the story.

When writing, authors use various writing techniques and devices to better their story. From onomatopoeia, and similes, to mood and setting, these devices are what make the stories we read astounding. Atmosphere specifically is imperative to a great writing piece as it is prevalent throughout the entire story. From the first three words to the last three words, the reader is focused on the mood they are interpreting from the storyline. In “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the mood is what makes the story so amazing and helps us understand the theme.

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.

Would you believe that there was once a village where everyone would partake in a terrible event, but think it was innocent because of how they blindly followed a tradition? The short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson communicates this theme by showing how the villagers participate in a lottery every year. In life, there are people who follow tradition because the have to, or they are used to following without question. The author, Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. In 1937, Shirley Jackson attended Syracuse University where she began to write short stories. She was famous for the short story, “The Lottery,” and her best seller novel, “The Haunting of Hill House”. Shirley Jackson was

“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.

In her story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson manages to catch the readers’ attention and ultimately shock them with an unexpected ending; all of which help her emphasize her critique toward the dark side of human nature and the evil that resides, sometimes, in those who we less expect it from. Jackson uses symbolism throughout the story that helps her set the mood and also makes the readers wonder and analyze the senseless violence and cruelty in their own lives.

Although reader-response theory may tend to focus on the reader’s interpretation of the text, it does not discount the writer’s sense of authorship, the social, historical, or even political context surrounding a given work of literature, or the text itself. In brief, “The Lottery” tells the story of an annual summer drawing that initially appears innocent to the reader, but becomes more tension-filled and ultimately dangerous as the short story continues. By the end of the piece, it is revealed that the lottery is not a fortunate winning at all, but an ancient ritual in which a group of relatively modern townspeople end up stoning the chosen woman (Jackson). The author,

Shirley Jackson uses several literary devices in “The Lottery” to assist in portraying the theme of her story. Several examples of the devices used are: foreshadowing, imagery, symbolism, motif, tone, and dialogue. The main devices seen within the theme of the story however, include: dialogue, motif, symbolism, and imagery. Throughout the story the theme could be interpreted several different ways, however, the main idea is tradition. Tradition is sacred to many and meaningless to some. In “The Lottery”, tradition is something upheld only for the sake of it being tradition, no matter how unordinary or extravagant it may seem. These terms provide insight and textual evidence to help the reader determine and understand the story’s theme, being

Shirley Jackson is to be considered one of the best authors of the 1900’s. Her style of writing reeled in readers from all different ages. She can be creepy, hilarious, and inspiring to the eyes that see her words. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, she keeps the reader on the edge of their seat wanting to continue reading beyond the final word. She uses literary devices to shape her story to grab her readers attention all throughout the story. By using these literary devices, Shirley Jackson shows off her dark and twisted side as well as her fantastic writing style to emphasize why she is one of the writers of her generation.

It has been said that reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are. For a reader to actually go anywhere in the book, the author must keep the reader interested. This can be done by using the correct literary devices to develop the theme into something extraordinary. “The lottery” by Shirley Jackson uses a few distinct literary devices, that created an interesting and immersive story. Using the rhetorical triangle, symbolism, and tone Mrs. Jackson was able to express her unique theme about staying true to traditions.

The short story, The Lottery, was written by Shirley Jackson and was published by The New Yorker in June 26, 1948. Within the story contains numerous amount of literary elements, such as irony, symbolism, and tone, all are used to convey Jackson’s ultimate message.

Shirley Jackson received very little literary criticism throughout her life. The reason why is very controversial. The most accurate reason is most likely because Shirley Jackson’s works were so different, filling in many different genres and types of stories. “Despite her popularity--several of her novels were best-sellers--her work received relatively little critical attention. Some critics claim the lack of critical attention paid to Jackson is due to her versatility--in her lifetime she published novels, short stories, plays, children's books, television scripts and humorous sketches of domestic life.” ("Shirley Jackson."(Online)). Other critics blame it on the fact that Shirley was a woman and the men that lived during her time wouldn’t

“Every group feels strong, once it has found a scapegoat” (Mignon McLaughlin, 1913). A scapegoat is someone who is blamed for all the faults and corruptions that others have committed. In history, there are lots of scapegoat examples, the most popular being; Jesus Christ and the Jews in the Second World War. In the short story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson used persecution and tradition to demonstrate how scapegoating justified unfair killing. Both of these aspects relate to the World War that preceded only a couple years before the story was written. The persecution was blind and done once a year as a tradition that everyone expected to happen.

Shirley Jackson 's ‘The Lottery’ is a classic American short story known for its shocking twist ending and its insightful commentary on cultural traditions. It was originally printed in The New Yorker magazine in 1948.The tale begins with all the villagers gathering in the town square for the annual lottery as if it were just another day. Children are playing with stones while the adults swap stories of farming and gossip. It 's not until the lottery begins, over halfway through the story that we start to suspect that all is not as it seems. Literature continues to be a means to expose the darkness of that inequality (Gioia, 2013). Writers carry the burden of exposing the darkness that lies at the heels of ignorance as Jackson so