What Is The Climax Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery” is a short story by Shirley Jackson. It is about a small farming town, and every June they have a lottery. The lottery is held by Mr. Summers, the head of the coal company. Mr. Summers has one card for each person in the town. He places a black dot on one of them. He puts them in a black box. Whoever chooses the black dotted card will get stoned. First the heads of families choose, then everyone else. The people who chose the black dot were Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson. At the end they were starting to get stoned. This is why you shouldn’t follow traditions or leaders blindly.

Every day, people live most of their lives following traditions that were passed down to them from past generations. Tradition is the transmission of believes, ideas, or laws from generation to generation. It plays an important role in connecting families, villages and communities together. Whether it be a cooking recipe, a celebration like a quinceanera, or how to raise children, traditions play an important role in how people go about and live their everyday lives. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, tradition takes on an important role in the development of the story. Symbols, like the black box and the lottery itself, along with the characters ,like Tessie and Old Man Warner, in the story all contribute to the theme of “The Lottery” which is the consequences of following traditions without questioning.

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.

Lottery scam begins with an unexpected email notification, phone call, or mailing that the scammer contact a people to tell them won a large amount of money in an international lottery, sweepstake or other prize draw.

In the short story "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses figurative language, symbolism, and irony to reveal her theme that things are not always what they seem to be. In this shocking short story, she reveals the corruption of human nature by telling of the ceremony they call “The lottery”.

On the other hand, the villagers stoning the winner of the lottery was used as a symbol of punishment. It is one of the most established and common execution methods. However, in The Lottery, the stones represent victory of the lottery. Shirley Jackson stated that, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (Jackson 291). Stoning is symbolic in “The Lottery” because, “For stoning to be effective it requires a crowd to act together. This reinforces the point that the antagonist of this story it is not a single person but society” (Gahr). For instance, this means that the immorality of the village is so severe that the antagonist is not just one person but society itself. How do you think the villagers feel when their children were caught up in this senseless tradition by collecting stones? It is obvious that the villagers were following tradition that was done every year. “What about allowing a child to be a child?” For example; playing with toy cars and trucks, coloring books and Barbie’s, or getting push by their parents on a swing at a park. Children should not be allowed to partake in an event so gruesome and violent or seen raising anything to aggressively hurt an adult.

“…but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.”

Towards the end of the story the villagers begin to make some actions that reveal their intentions and as a result, raise the stakes of what had been going on in the story. The first such action that the villagers take is that all of them begin to pick up rocks and walk towards the “winner”, Tessie. Tessie seems to already know what is happening or what will happen and as a result of her reaction, the reader can tell that something major in relation to Tessie is at risk. Then, Tessie protests and claims that the lottery wasn’t conducted fairly and in response the other villagers don’t directly respond and instead say,“Let’s finish quickly.”(p.7). This “response” is unusual and makes the reader wonder what they are finishing, as of this point readers can tell the mood has drastically changed from previous parts of the story and that there is something at risk, but not specifically what it is. The action the villagers take next is beginning to throw stones at Tessie, this shows the reader that the villagers are trying to kill Tessie and this raises the stakes because it shows that her life is at risk. Thus, the actions the villagers take towards the end of the story raise the

In Shirley Jacksons, The Lottery, the reader is taken into an almost dreamlike village where the children are playing and the adults are conversing and laughing amongst each other. The story makes the reader believe that this village that they have been introduced to is the ideal spot to live in and has the happiest of people but the story begins to unravel itself as it progresses. The village follows a tradition to hold an annual lottery and this requires that all townspeople are required to meet up at the square. Once a victor is chosen, the story takes a turn for the worst as the said victor, Mrs.Hutchinson, is stoned to death. Upon reading this story and its ending, it is apparent that this result was being hinted at from the beginning and that the mentality of the village is unstable. Having children take part in picking up stones for the pending murder and parents mindlessly allowing these obviously immoral actions to continue.

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.

You have brought out a great point on the foreshadow analyzing for the story “The lottery”. I didn’t notice that stone had play a huge role in this story because while I was reading the story, I just though the children are just having fun collecting the stone. I never realize that the author giving the reader hint that the stone, later on is for beating up a person. Answering to your question, yes Old Man Warner is a stubborn person who not willing to change this tradition. I think this traditional doesn’t have end until Old Warmer pass away, I think if there a good amount of people who disagree about this traditional and go against it. This traditional eventually would end.

1."Girl"-Protagonist: The girl, Antagonist: Mom, Point of View: First Person, Setting: Antigua in the 1980's.

     Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is an excellent example of an allegorical short story. In this story, the reader learns of a town's "lottery" that takes place once a year, every year. It has been a tradition in this small rural town for many years and the villagers never question these activities, they just blindly go along with it. But what the reader doesn't know is just what kind of prize the winner is going to obtain. Jackson's use of symbolism is shown through the description of the characters, significant objects, and the actions in the story. These elements are used to represent the death that is associated with the lottery.

Upon completion of “The Lottery”, one may be perplexed with the overall meaning of the story. Shirley Jackson’s tale of an unusual ritual with a horrific ending has a deeper context. The overall theme of “The Lottery” is public execution which is justified by a revered tradition of the villagers. Once finished with the tale and pondering on the deeper meaning of the text, the reader is aware that the meaning behind the true meaning of the lottery has been lost through time. The younger generation of villagers are unknowingly committing a crime by participating in the lottery, due to the essence of the tradition has been lost and strayed away from by the citizens of the village.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story written in 1948. Due to World War II ending around this time, her story took some strong criticism. The people at that time wanted uplifting stories, and this story is the very opposite because of its underlying theme of tradition and conformity. “The Lottery” shows that no matter the tradition or belief, people will not stray from their daily routine because humans are creatures of habit, and are scared to wonder from what we know. Jackson writes by providing the reader with little details at first.Then making the reader put the information all together to come to the conclusion that people will never change. Jackson then creates symbols of tradition and conformity by adding details, using specific objects, and”The Lottery” itself.