The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Language Analysis

First, Saunders and I emphasize the significance of Jackson’s first name. It’s easy to see the metaphor implied by Welty in

Throughout the centuries, there have been an infinite amount of literary works written by a sea of authors that write a variety of genres. All of these works are precious in their own way, and even if their theme is similar to that of another, the author always ads a bit of his/her own flare in order to make said literary creation unique in some way. William Wordsworth’s “London 1802” and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Douglass”, although quite similar in form and sentence structure, do add their own flare through the use of specific details. Through the use of these devices, the speakers show their disgust for the evil deeds humans do and

In their messages, Andrew Jackson and Michael Rutledge use different aspects of language to get their points across. Some of these literary devices are tone, euphemism, diction, and clear, specific language. These different devices are used for multiple reasons, but tend to have unintended similarities. In other words, these authors use unique ways of writing to explain their thoughts and ideas on these specific topics, to induce specific emotions into their audiences. To begin with, in his ‘Message to Congress “On Indian Removal”(1830),’ Andrew Jackson used a positive tone.

First, the black box is the key holder for life and death inside the village because of the past executions. Although the color uses a reference for universal symbols of evil and death. As the past years, the box has been put away in storage for 364 days out of the whole year. During the annual event, "no one like to upset even as much tradition" (260) because of past rituals and did not care about the box appearance. Also, not a single person knows how long the tradition has been going on, but they continue because the fear of tradition will change. They base their attachment on nothing more than a story that

Foreshadowing is also represented in the text such as “Charles had to stay after school. And so all the children stayed to watch him”. These aspects of the story make Jackson’s story very entertaining. Jackson’s style in “Charles” is abounding with literary elements. She uses words that really depict and describe the

Society is ever changing and evolving, the interactions between family members and those in a person’s community can change from day to day. Shirley Jackson and Ernest Hemingway explore society and the interaction of people within a society to show the true nature of people. The authors both use short yet intense diction which places the reader within the story. The twists within the plot lines of both essays show the reader life is always unexpected and that although one may believe they know the conclusion they are blindsided by the truth. The two writers have very similar approaches throughout the story hiding the true reasoning behind the story until the finale, yet the way the compose their essays and the way in which societies within those essays act, both writers display how

Symbolically the battered black box represents the death that it brings to the community as well as a worn out tradition. The box is mentioned repeatedly throughout the story, which is a sign of its importance, although we are kept in the dark about its ultimate function until the very end. It is described as "…no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places [is] faded or stained." (Jackson 75). This seems to also describe the lottery itself- old, faded, and stained with the blood of all those who have died in years past. Ironically, the black box used in the story was said not to be the original box and the papers that they used were substitutes for the old wood chips. This is a sign that the tradition is so old and meaningless that it can be constantly added to or taken away from. "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box…[and] every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything being done" (Jackson 75). Perhaps Mr. Summers's idea symbolizes a need for a new tradition.

The black box really symbols how long that the tradition has been going on. The box is barely even black anymore, it is stained, and it is very worn down. Theses characters of the black box represents the condition of the tradition, and it’s need to be put to rest. This is symbolized when Jackson wrote, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson, 237). The public knew that the box was old, they knew that it needed to be replaced, but the only factor keeping them from doing so was the fact that it had been the same for so long, containing pieces of the original black box incorporated into its current structure, and they did not want to change that.

The black box is not only Alliteration, but it is also a symbol in “The Lottery”. Martine Ma declares, “The black box holds the key between life or death for every single one of the townspeople”. Inside the black box is a “slip of paper” (Jackson1870) with “a black spot” (Jackson1870) that would declare the death of a villager and the sacrifice for the harvest. The black box also represents ‘evil’ in “The Lottery”. Seth Cassel stated, “The villagers have become entranced in the gruesome tradition of stoning people.” Proving that the black box has manipulated the townspeople into killing their fellow villagers because of the lottery the black box

It was nothing to her, that an innocent man was to die for the sins of his

The shabby black box represents the tradition of the lottery. It is a major part of the village because it is breaking apart, but the villagers are still using it. However, they are renovating it to keep it from falling apart. “The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained” (Jackson 2). The box may still be deteriorating, but the villagers are trying their hardest to keep it in shape. Gahr explains how the black box is significant to the story when she says that, “This box is a symbol for those in the town because it is one of the only connections to the origin of the lottery… the lost meanings of the tradition have in many ways made that tradition more powerful, because you can't question a tradition once it has moved beyond reason to simply the way things are done” (Gahr 1). The black box may be a symbol of evil, but the villagers are still using and renovating it because they are just blindly following a tradition.

In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson Shows a lot of attention to the details that give you imagery of what is happening. The black box is a good example of her attention to details that puts a very depicted image into the reader's mind. While she is describing the black box she tells about how old the box is, older than old man warner who has been around for 77 lotterys. When Jackson introduces the box she talks about how the tradition was built in the box and how they thought that the old box that had been lost long ago was built into the new box. Jackson also touches on the fact that Mr. Joe Summers, who runs the lottery, tries to convince the town residents to build a new box, but the residents are so stuck up in the tradition that they will not even consider. When Jackson Describes the box she says,”The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.”, this goes to show that many of the residents take this box as the way the lottery will always stay in tradition. Another way that Jackson shows her great use of details and imagery is in her account of the events that she describes. “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; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 2th. but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole

The black box in the lottery is one of the earliest forms of symbolism used by Shirley Jackson. Introduced in paragraph five, the black box is described as being “put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 5). The appearance of the black box gives a few examples of symbolism. Black, in many cultures, is seen as the color of death and loss, and the box in the lottery holds

Likewise, the black box is symbolic in the short story. It is a prehistoric box in which the villagers draw the slips of paper but do not want to replace it to avoid “upsetting tradition.” The black box is a symbol to the villagers because many people before them have practiced the lottery. “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 1). Lending confidence to the villagers, the black box reminds them to trust in their forefathers. Not only are the stones and black box symbolic, but also the marked slip of paper. It is with a single dark dot that indicates who the next victim of the lottery will be. The dot appears to look like a spot or a blemish on a piece of paper. These are frequently associated with disease and so the marking of the dot symbolizes the marking of a person for destruction. The paper itself also manifests the pointlessness of the lottery; it was created by Joe Summers who though of it the night before on a scratch piece of paper with a pencil. It is this mark, made by a random human, that determines the fate of a person. The marked slip of paper holds no power, but rather the power that

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