Theme Of Irony In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In 1949 a short story by Shirley Jackson talks about a village that has a annual lottery that a person get chosen to get stoned to death. But in this short story called the lottery the author put all these characters and objects that have more meaning than it is. In “The Lottery” there are many characters and objects that have a symbolic meaning. In this story everything has a special meaning even to the little stones on the ground to the people in the square village. This short story has a very special meaning to it.

The best feeling one can experience is winning a prize. For example, when one wins the lottery, one is excited, however not the lottery in the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The lottery in this story represents a certain kind of irony known as situational irony. Now, this is not the only example of irony included in this story there are also examples of verbal irony and dramatic irony. In The story “The Lottery” there are countless instances of situational irony, verbal irony, and dramatic irony that presents readers with the barbaric ways of the town and allows readers to have an insight on the town’s issues.

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.

The use of Satire/Irony within literature establishes situations where the unlikelihood of the occurrence of an event will happen. Jackson’s manipulation of his story, The Lottery, provides an unexpected twist to what one may seem to be a normal subject. Northrop Frye’s The Singing School, suggests that all stories are told in either one of four ways: Comedy, Romance, Tragedy or Satire/Irony (Frye 18). The use of Irony and its conventional associations eludes the reader from interpreting a story as a Romance, but instead give the reader a reversed twist. This use of ironic convention in literary work is seen through Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery; the story of Tessie

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 Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” irony is an underlying theme used throughout the story. The setting is introduced as a “clear and sunny” day, but ends with the brutal death of a housewife (715). The two people who essentially run the town, Mr. Graves and Mr. Summers, also have ironic names. In addition, the characters and the narrator make ironic statements throughout the story.

In both “The Lottery” and “The Possibility of Evil” Jackson uses irony. In “The Lottery” she uses irony by taking something that most think is positive and giving it a negative connotation. She does this by writing “The lottery is conducted… by Mr.

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.

Society today sees the lottery as an easy way to win a ginormous amount of cash just by buying a little slip of paper with a combination of numbers. The irony that Shirley Jackson uses in her short story, The Lottery, is used to the extreme by not only the title being ironic, but also within the story. The lottery is seen as a way to gain cash, but the ironic part of the title is that the reader sees it and thinks that the story will be about someone winning a big prize, yet the winner is sentenced to being stoned to death. Within the story, Shirley Jackson writes about how one member of the community ultimately chooses who wins the lottery. Another ironic thing about someone chooses the winner is that one of the communities sons picked his own father to win the lottery. Linda Wagner-Martin analyzes The Lottery and its irony by writing, “Bringing in the small children as she does, from early in the story (they are gathering stones, piling them up where they will be handy, and participating in the ritual as if it were a kind of play), creates a poignance not only for the death of Tessie the mother, but for the sympathy the crowd gives to the youngest Hutchinson, little Dave. Having the child draw his own slip of paper from the box reinforces the normality of the occasion, and thereby adds to Jackson's irony. It is family members, women and children, and fellow residents who are being killed through this orderly, ritualized process. As Jackson herself once wrote, "I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the story's

Many authors use irony to make their writings more diverse, as well as to intensify the literary elements in the story. Shirley Jackson, writer of “The Lottery”, does this in her stories in order to leave the reader in suspense and confusion with her use of situational irony. She also uses dramatic irony to give the story a grotesque twist and to cause the reader more confusion about the characters’ morals. Verbal irony is used to intensify characterization as well as give the reader an insight into the true beliefs of those in the village. The use of irony in all three forms throughout the story adds an intensity to the development of many literary elements throughout the story.

Looks can be deceiving as shown In Shirley Jackson’s fiction short stories, “The Possibility of Evil” ,and “The Lottery”. In these stories there are both similarities and differences. In both short stories there is an unexpected ending. Although both endings are very different in many ways. Literary devices that are used in both stories also show great similarities, and differences.

The title of Jackson’s story contains suspense and tension to convey irony. Jackson’s use of words keeps the reader on the road that there are no problems and everything is great. For the townspeople’s behavior as they wait and when the lottery is chosen, the

Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery", ironically gives the lottery a bad meaning. The lottery in this story is used for a public stoning, unlike what would typically come to mind when winning the lottery; a big sum of money. The reader sees both literal and metaphorical meaning of this story because for one it shows for face value what the story is about and hidden behind it is the notion of the scapegoat being picked like a lottery number. The setting of the story in respects to the story's environment served to illustrate the mood of that time in the story.

The first way that Jackson did this was in in the actual title of the story. When people usually think of a lottery, they expect a drawing in where someone wins some sort of prize of great worth. The lottery that the village actually performs is a drawing in which one loses. Not only is the title deceiving, but the opening lines which describe the setting of the village were also ironic: “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.”

They use irony in both similar and dissimilar ways. In a similar way, both authors introduce irony from the very beginning in their titles. The titles “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” both imply that someone in the story wins something desirable. However, after reading the stories, one can clearly see the irony; in both stories winning resulted in death. While both stories contain irony, each story discloses the element of irony through different aspects of the story. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” Lawrence reveals several examples of irony through his characters. Paul claims he has luck, but his “luck” kills him. Hester considers herself unlucky when actually she has many blessings in life. Whereas in “The Lottery”, Jackson weaves in most of her irony in her setting. She sets the story in pleasant summer scene and in a small, American town, both of which contrast the horrific stoning at the end. While dissimilar in their means of displaying irony, both “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” clearly compare in their strong use of