The Lottery By Shirley Jackson: A Literary Analysis

There is a great deal of tension about the ritual that surrounds the Lottery traditions in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” Out of fear and superstition, the lottery ceremony continues to exist. In short, the lottery is more of a tradition rather than a ritual at the point we witness in the story, but out of respect and fear for tradition, the towns folks are more than willing to commit an act of mass violence, simply for the sake of a tradition.

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.

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

In the short story, "The Lottery", written by Shirley Jackson, literary devices are used to enhance the story. When writing, authors may employ many literary devices into a story. One of the many literary devices is symbolism. The symbols can help imply the theme of the story. The readers have an opportunity to unfold the meaning behind each symbol. This short story, in particular, is full of many symbols. In a logical way, the author is able to keep the reader engaged in the action.

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, a novelist known for her distinctive short stories in the 20th century, was born on December 14, 1916, in San Francisco, California (Shirley Jackson Bio). Jackson enrolled in Syracuse University in 1937, where she started her career of writing many influential and widely-known short stories, yet one in particular stood out for its gruesome irony of life in the United States. In “The Lottery,” Jackson depicted a small town gathering for the annual lottery, where citizens participated in a raffle, resulting in the random execution of a member of the community. As a result, they would reap the benefits of the execution through their crops in the summer; however, throughout the story, the names of her characters and the objects she portray conveyed a meaning beyond the story itself. Jackson’s use of symbolism allegorically details the narrative’s significance to humanity.

Symbolism is a literary technique that many writers like to use. In short, it is the use of symbols to represent qualities or ideas. This is largely the case in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” “The Lottery” is a short fiction that uses many techniques of symbolism to define itself as a darker, yet meaningful short story. The symbolic messages within “The Lottery” include the atmosphere, the characters of the story, and the black box.

Ice Cream, warm weather and summer vacation, most people are excited for summer, once June comes around, people enjoy pass times such as going to the zoo or relaxing on beaches. Meanwhile, in a village nearby, villagers are getting prepared to have their name drawn to be stoned to death by their fellow villagers. In the story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the sky is clear on June 27th, while most mind are fogged with the thought that either themselves or a loved one might die that day. Tensions are even higher in the town where The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, takes place. A similar event will soon happen here except two tributes from twelve districts will be put in an arena to fight to the death. There are many ways in

With a dramatic shift from a seemingly innocent atmosphere to a bleak turn of events, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” manages to capture her readers’ attention in a virulent manner. Although they are often criticized, she is known for her works in the gothic horror genre, particularly “The Lottery”. This story depicts a small town that holds an annual “lottery” in which one unlucky person is randomly selected to be stoned to death in order to ensure a bountiful corn harvest. Since she suffered many psychological battles, Shirley Jackson creates such dark stories criticizing humanity’s violent presence to portray the era of life she faced. World War II had already ended by the time “The Lottery” was published and there is an underlying criticism

While America classical writing is often known for being dark and abstract, it often illustrates a deep message of truth that relates to the existing world. Through the mid to late 1900s Shirley Jackson and Kurt Vonnegut published a number of fictional pieces in the United States. During this time, each addressed the existing struggle between the individual and society. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” are two stories that depict the oppression an individual faces when pitted to society. Jackson’s piece in particular points to the danger of blind following, while Vonnegut’s work addresses the danger in total equality. Through a number of means, both authors illustrate the danger in submissively

1. In the short story, “The Lottery”, the town’s people are preparing for their annual lottery. The night before the lottery begins Mr. Summer’s and Mr. Graves, the postmaster, must make the slips of paper and place them in the box. There were lists made up of the heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in the family. Mr. Summers had to be officially sworn in by the postmaster as the official of the lottery. The town’s people first must gather in the square on June 27th by 10 o’clock. In this town the lottery starts at “10’o clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.” Then the names of the male head of households are called. The head of household must draw unless they

Mr. Summers conducts the lottery because he had the energy and time to hold civic events.

Shirley Jackson uses irony as a theme to create this almost perfect story where there is an unexpected twist. Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” is sickening, horrific and intense. This shocking story is about a small town that has all the members’ participate in an annual lottery. Unlike all normal lotteries the winner receives death by stoning rather than a cash prize, as the story advance Tessie places her children in danger to have a better chance at survival. This lottery seems to have no limit of age.

What if every year, in your town you had to stone one of your loved ones? What if you were the one chosen? Is this an okay thing to do? In my opinion it is not because in the story they believe that the stoning of people helps their crops.This is a bad thing to do and a person’s life is more valuable than crops. The story’s many themes shows how unfair the lottery is and how it is evolution helps understand the fear that Mrs.Hutchinson shows at the end of the story.

Many stories, such as “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, have many symbols hidden throughout the narrative. Symbols help to relate objects, colors, etc. to certain emotions which furthers the reader’s connection to the story. Symbolism can also change the perspective of the readers. For example, an item could have a different meaning in the story than it does in the real world. Even though “The Lottery” is a short story it has many elements of symbolism such as the color black, the lottery, and the stones.