The Lottery Short Story Analysis

To us, a lottery is a game of chance with the possibility of riches. The grand prize is something all players want. In “The Lottery”, this is not the case. Jackson uses our view of this traditional game of luck and gives it an ironic twist. As the story progresses, the foreshadowing that is presented is often ignored, as the reader does not realize its importance.

The black box represents virtually the only part of the original ritual that has been preserved since the lottery began. It is there not only to hold the papers that will be drawn, but also to represent to

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.

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.

Shirley Jackson takes great care in creating a setting for the story, The Lottery. She gives the reader a sense of comfort and stability from the very beginning. It begins, "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The setting throughout The Lottery creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquility, while portraying a typical town on a normal summer day.

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.

Shirley Jackson is known for her creative writing and plot twisting stories such as “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Lottery”. Jackson always finds a way to leave the reader somewhat confused and wanting to read more. In both of these stories it is a small town where everyone knows one another but something about each of these towns isn't right. In “The Lottery” it turns out that each year, one family, then individual from that family is chosen to be stoned to death for a sacrifice. Then in “The Possibility of Evil” it turns out that one old woman has been writing rude anonymous letters to the people of the town. In both essays Jackson uses many literary devices that help her create these stories that she is so known for. Some of the literary devices she uses are situational and verbal irony, and mood and foreshadowing. She uses a fair amount of all three of these throughout her short stories.

Thesis: The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson found in Perrine's Literature written by Thomas R. Arp is a story full of symbolism.

To a first time reader, Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” seems simply as a curious tale with a shocking ending. After repetitive reading of Jackson's tale, it is clear that each sentence is written with a unique purpose often using symbolism. Her use of symbols not only foreshadow its surprise and disturbing ending but allows the reader to evaluate the community's pervert traditional rituals. She may be commenting on the season of the year and the grass being “richly green” or the toying with the meanings of the character's names but each statement applies to the meaning and lesson behind her story.

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.

In the short story “The lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the lottery is an yearly event, that happens on June 27th. The lottery process starts at ten o'clock in them morning. The ending time is not set, because that depends on the population of the town. All the people are gathered, and are organized by their family. Each family sends a person from their family to take a slip of paper out of the black box; this is usually the male head of the family, but a women can draw in the absence of him. Those papers cannot be opened until every family gets a paper. After family gets their paper, everyone opens their up. If your paper has a black dot on it, then that means you are the “lucky” family. The paper with the black dot is then placed back into the box, along with a white piece of paper for each person in the “lucky” family. Each family member then redraws the slip of paper. Then, each person in the family opens their paper up, and whoever got the piece of paper with the black dot on it, you will be stoned to death.

“The Lottery”’: What it means to be Human Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Lottery” answers the question of what it means to be human by revealing just what it is not. She describes it as a “moral allegory revealing the hidden evil of the human soul” (Charters 290). In the story, we see two main points about man, the human inclination to choose a scapegoat and society’s inability to break with traditions even after the reason for the tradition forgotten. This is a story about how people stand by their traditions even when those traditions are questionable.

Many people live their lives following traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. From holidays to ways of eating, tradition is how most people go about their daily lives. In the short story the Lottery tradition played a vital role. The villagers followed one tradition which determined the outcome of their lives or crops. the tradition of the lottery was endemic to the towns. The tradition was a way to bring the towns together and link families. The villagers believed that in following the tradition there would be many benefits to come.

This insightful story by Shirley Jackson has a satirical spin, leaving the reader with abounding questions, yet it sends off a calm, but still apprehensive atmosphere. "The Lottery" starts off with a seemingly calm village, explaining the meaning of this lottery and how the population prepares for it; giving the impression of this event being harmless and blithe. From the middle to the end of the story, it begins to give off the dark side of this piece, for sundry characters are seen solicitous and frantic about what will actually happen between the families and the lottery. Therefore, Shirley Jackson creates an ironic twist throughout the story "The Lottery" by using plot, characterization and theme.

First, her used to word symbolized main point of the story. Second, Jackson was inspired by few historical events happened in the past and a life incident in her life. Lastly, She was able to accomplish the connection between historical and biographical with the story. Therefore, Shirley Jackson’s “ The Lottery” is an indirect reflection of her factual life and time moment.