Literary Elements Of The Lottery

The story started when people are gathered every end of June for the annual lottery ritual in a small village. All the head of each family are required to grab a slip a slip of paper in the box that is placed in the middle of the village. The in charge of the lottery was Mr. Summer. The conflict occurs when Tessie found out that her husband Bill was the center of the Villager’s attention. There is something on the paper that he picked. Because of that Tessie can’t even accept it and she keep on yelling that it is not fair. She believed that the time given to Bill was not enough to pick the paper that he wanted from Mr. Summer. The entire Hutchinson family, are

1. Social psychologists observe that every group develops its own outcast or misfit, who is blamed for all sorts of group malfunctions and woes. Have you observed this dynamic in your own work, school, church, or family groups?

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.

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.

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

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.

Over the years many critics have wrote articles on Shirley Jackson's numerous works. Many critics had much to say about Jackson's most famous short story, "The Lottery". Her insights and observations about man and society are disturbing; and in the case of "The Lottery," they are shocking. "The themes themselves are not new, evil cloaked in seeming good, prejudice and hypocrisy, loneliness and frustration, psychological studies of minds that have slipped the bonds of reality" (Friedman). Literary critic, Elizabeth Janeway wrote that, " 'The Lottery' makes its effect without having to state a moral about humanity's need to deflect the knowledge of its own death on a victim. That uneasy consciousness is

In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and the historical event of blacklisting Americans during the 1950s, the authors convey that loyalty causes us to turn against others around you through symbols. In “The Lottery”, loyalty to tradition caused a society to turn on one another. “The Lottery” was an annual tradition where each head of household (the dominant male in each home) picked a slip of paper. If the piece selected had a black dot on it, you had to go through the selection process again, but this time each individual member of your family had to choose a slip out of the box. Whoever chose the black dot out of there family had won the Lottery, and would be sacrificed for a good corn season. On the seventy-seventh lottery, the

Hit it! Hit it! Hit it! Don’t lose your aim, because if you lose it, you lose the way. A birthday party without a piñata just doesn't seem to be a birthday party. There's a joy that tiptoes up and takes over the whole party when the expectation of candy, the ability for young children to handle a bat and destroy something, and parents can mess with the little children. The element of danger and malice all in good fun is in the air and it makes a giddy happiness that is addictive to the point where they are giggling and laughing before they know they are or the reason why they are. Handling a bat blindfolded while laughing hysterically is a time that nobody should miss. In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, things are done the way they have always been done, even if there is no reason why. Certain people remember where the rituals created, and certain people seem to know why they are important. Yet tradition is important, so they continue. “The Lottery” is an excellent example of an allegorical short story. Jackson uses symbolism through the description of the characters, significant objects, and the actions in the story.

Only when we are introduced to Old Man Warner, the only man in the village old enough to remember some of the traditions, do we get an idea of the purpose of the lottery. It seems to be a pagan harvest ritual, as expressed by his old saying: ??Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon?? (Jackson 369). By participating in the lottery the villages crops will prove to be bountiful. He justifies the use of the lottery simply by stating ?There?s always been a lottery? (Jackson 369).

In “The lottery” Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to hint at the stoning that happens at the very end of the story. For example in the text it says “--eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys.” (Jackson). This quotation shows that the kids are making piles of stones for a future use that we don’t know about until the very end of the story. This quote also shows how the kids make a big pile of stones and if they are making a big pile of stones then they would have to have a huge use for them later. Therefore the children are making piles of stones for something that happens later in the story. Jackson’s use of foreshadowing in “The Lottery” contributed to the story

At the beginning of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the village congregates in the square on the “clear and sunny” (247) midsummer day of June 27th. The children are out of school, the flowers are blooming, and the grass is a vibrant green. Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” begins on “the Festival of Summer,” (242) which includes processions, dancing, singing, bells, and horses. Although the village in “The Lottery” and the city of Omelas appear pleasant and even utopian, the village holds an annual killing of one of its citizens and the city is complicit in the imprisonment of a child. Although the settings of the short stories are alike in their summery mood, by the end of both stories,

In the reader’s mind, the lottery is most likely seen as a good thing. Nothing about the lottery raises a red flag, much like the seemingly innocent, happy village. Nothing seems to be wrong with either… at first. The lottery is actually an allegory/symbol for the village. While in the surface, both seem fine, after a while, it becomes apparent something is off (with the lottery and the village), what with the kids collecting rocks (foreshadowing) and the strange attitude all the adults have.

To further understand the text one must know the literary devices present in The Lottery. In the short story The Lottery there is a theme of tradition. The citizens all blindly followed the tradition of the lottery while barely remembering its origin or reasoning. Each year the town came together to have its lottery. It was said that the lottery was done each year so that they would have good crops but many of the citizens had forgotten its purpose.

The Lottery begins like any other day. Clear and sunny skies, flowers blossoming, and green grass. Seemingly nothing out of the ordinary. Then people begin to gather in the town square. What is this lottery that is taking place? Do the people of the town agree with it? These questions can only be answered by exploring the minds of the people in the town.