Essay Tradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Tradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. As the story begins, the villagers appear to be fairly civilized and carry on fairly modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the men's discussion of planting, rain, tractors, and taxes. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some may think that the tradition is primal competition of anthropoid beasts. On the other hand, some think that carrying

Thesis In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, and Graham Greene’s “The Destructors”, the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, grim reality, and a ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately showcases how people blindly follow tradition. Outline I. Introduction II. Setting B. Time Period III. Plot A. What messages are seen in

The Blind Obedience in “The Lottery” “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson written and published in 1948, takes place on June 27th in a small town of three hundred people. Villagers gather together at around ten o’clock for one of the main rituals called ‘the lottery‘, which takes place in the central square. “The lottery was conducted as were the square dances” (Jackson 31) illustrating the timely scheduled event. It is a normal day with “the fresh warmth of a full summer day” (Jackson 1). The men

Whenever we think about lottery, we think about it as winning jackpot. However, in the story, "The Lottery," the author, Shirley Jackson, defined it in a very unique way of her time period at a certain small village with very few people. Shirley ironically gives the lottery a bad meaning since the lottery is used for public stoning, contrary to what it originally means; winning a lot of money. Shirley mentions how the village was fading away because of the cruelty and sadness that carried out by

Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual

Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” serves as an allegory regarding humankinds inherent to be cruel and society’s ability to inure to violence. The author’s use of a third-person dramatic narrative combined with strong themes, symbols and irony clearly supports the lesson Jackson was trying to portray. Jackson’s short story shows how easy it is to be hostile when a group of villagers with a herd mentality blindly follow an outdated tradition and that evil knows no boundaries. Jackson starts

filled with excitement and eeriness, leaving the reader speechless. The Lottery , a short story written by famous writer Shirley Jackson, created an uproar on June 26, 1948, when it was published in the magazine The New Yorker (Ball). The gothic thriller, set in an unknown time and place, shares the tradition of a small town, a little larger than three hundred people, in which a drawing is held once a year. In this “Lottery,” each family’s husband draws a slip of paper from a black box. The husband

Shirley Jackson was a master of modern gothic fiction and wrote of the essentially evil nature of human beings. The major focus of her work is to emphasize the psychological dimension of experience and the absolute isolation of a human. Shirley Jackson also believes and suggests that humanity must continue to try to define its own reality, and strive to survive with nobility. Her most famous piece of work “The Lottery,” depicts the cruelty and brutality of humanity in the mass and insensitivity of

“The Lottery?” Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”. Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition

DEATH BY TRADITION Henry James once said, “It takes an endless amount of history to make a little tradition.” In the short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson deals with the insignificant nature of humanity when it comes to traditions. Today when one thinks about winning, one does not think about the community or close relatives; one thinks about how one is going to spend the money received. However, in Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” represents a human sacrifice by means of stoning with