Winners Will Be Executed Short Story Analysis

In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our 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

People think winning the lottery is a good thing. However, in Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Lottery” the winner gets something very crucial, getting stoned to death. Shirley Jackson uses, foreshadowing, the attitude of the villagers, and the subtleness of the black box, to provide the gruesome ending of the story for the reader. Making the story, eerie, serious, and horrifying, the story takes an unexpected twist; the reader will soon realize that the lottery is not what they thought it would be.

The title, "The Lottery" would stimulate images of luck, wealth, winning, or other positive associations. However, the specific lottery in this story is a one that someone would normally avoid participation in, as the only prize is death. Rather than being excited to be announced the "winner," the only way to truly win this lottery is to not have your name drawn. Another example of irony would be found in the third paragraph where it references the women who arrived "wearing faded house dresses and sweaters." Though one would expect a rich, wealthy atmosphere being associated with a lottery, the villagers have modest, rather poor attire. The character, Mr. Summers, is another example of irony as his name would suggest a fun, light, and carefree season, yet he brings malignant intentions to the table as his job is to oversee the choosing of a

The small town atmosphere and beautiful summer day symbolize the idealistic picture most Americans have of what is right and good about this country. This is reinforced by the fact that the lottery is held in the same place as many of the town's celebrations such as the square-dances, teenage club, and the Halloween program, and clearly shows how easy it is for people to clear their conscience of such horrible actions by being able to have such joyous occasions in the same place. The attitude and actions of the characters slightly allude to the reader that something is amiss, but causes little cause for concern or suspicion. The children were playing and building rock piles. The men were talking about rain, taxes, and tractors while the women gossiped. But there was little laughter between the adults, and they stayed completely away from the rock piles. The setting of the town and the actions of the characters symbolize what many believe to be "right" in America.

When one typically thinks about a lottery, images of people yelling for joy and stacks of cash, typically come to mind. But that is not the case with Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”. Whereas lotteries typically have a positive connotation, Jackson’s lottery is quite the opposite Jackson’s sinister tale, published in the late 1940s, was written in order to highlight the pointless violence and general inhumanity that was present in the world. Jackson’s writing was meant to shock, and in doing so, make the story’s message memorable to readers. In her story, Jackson uses seemingly ordinary details about the townspeople and the lottery itself, to emphasize her theme that although humanity claims to be civilized, it is, in reality, inherently barbaric.

Accordingly the reader has had ample time to form whatever interpretations they may have about the lottery, even given the sparse information that the story provides. What is certain about the story leading up to the very end, is that everyone in the town takes place in the lottery regardless of age, that there’s been a lottery for as long as anyone can remember, that this village is not the only one that keeps this practice, and that it is a declining practice (Jackson 239). Despite whatever conceptions the reader may draw about the mystery of the lottery, the truth is so unexpected that it perfectly demonstrates how something can possess immense and startling power (May 48). The reader discovers that the lottery is actually a public stoning. The exact process is that everyone draws a piece of paper from a box, and whoever draws the paper marked with a black spot, is stoned to death. An important thing to note is that in the beginning of the story, the villagers “made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square” (Jackson 235). These stones are not mentioned until the very end, where the villagers proceed to bludgeon the unlucky winner of the lottery. This brutal image is enough to shatter any preconceived notions the reader may have formed, thus raising another mystery: what is the purpose of the lottery?

The Lottery is a perfect example of a short story for the literary lesson of interpreting symbols, allegory and myth. There are many symbols used in the story and countless ways to interpret them. The first symbol which stands out most of all, are the stones or rocks. Stoning is an ancient method of conducting a cruel and slow death. The stones symbolize the innate cruelty of humans. The people of Mrs. Hutchinson's community are so entrenched in tradition they have lost their individual qualities and their senses. There is also the black box which is suggestive of a coffin. The box is old and worn which suggests tradition which brings us to the deep myth that this is the right thing to do. The community is following suit – they have

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson was published in “The New Yorker” on June 26, 1948. It is considered as one of the most disturbing short stories of modern America. The plot in “The Lottery” is not clear for the reader until the end of the story, and this setting gives a big jump when the story reveals the real truth. In “The Lottery,” one of the main characters, Tessie Hutchison, gets stoned to death by her family and friends as the result of the annual event of the lottery. The tradition, characters struggle and the inevitable death of a person each year gives an insight of the tradition that the town has performed for so many years.

In this story, Tessie Hutchinson symbolizes as a passive and free spirit woman. Tessie stood out from the start. On the day of the lottery, everyone seems to have been on time but, Tessie Hutchinson was a bit late. Her excuse for being late was that she did not what to leave her dishes, which she was washing, in the sink. Other than her being late, there are other ways that she stood out. Other than most people; Tessie was excited about the lottery and was ready to attend it every year. When her husband pulled the paper that had the black spot on it, she began to argue and protest that Mr. summers did not give him enough time. At this point, she is feeling different about the lottery, because everything is turning on her and her family.

“The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a

“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, features a small town during the highly anticipated lottery. The lottery is an annual event, organized by Mr. Summers, the “jovial” man who runs the coal business. It is a highly important time, as the whole town comes to the town square on the day of the lottery. The guidelines are quite simple: everyone takes a slip of paper out of the symbolic black box, and the slip of paper with the black mark carved on it, is the “lucky winner”. But the town’s definition of the lottery is different一usually, a lottery is a valuable thing to win. But when Tessie Hutchinson, the “lucky winner” gets her reward by getting stoned to death by the rest of the villagers, it is clear that winning this lottery can't be a good affair... so what is the purpose of this lottery? Rather than discontinuing the lottery, the town continues with it because they don't want to upset an old tradition.

The first and most obvious symbol in “The Lottery” is the village’s annual event coincidentally called the lottery. In a shocking turn of events, Jackson reveals at the end of her short story that the lottery is not the exciting get rich quick event that occurs in present time; however, the lottery in this fictional world is in fact a death sentence. Because of its wicked intention, the lottery represents how immoral humankind is, or in this case, how immoral the villagers are. Jackson’s version of the lottery is much more cynical and haunting, for every year one lucky

In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the town comes together once a year to find out who will be announced the next winner of the annual lottery. This lottery happens every year and no one is ever excited to attend the gathering. Throughout the entire short story the tone was very suspicious and suspenseful. Everyone is on edge hoping that either their family is not the one to get picked, or if their family is, they hope that they will not be selected out of their family. There is a slight feel of discomfort in the town square as the long process of the drawings are taking place. In the end, after all the drawings have been reviled, Tessie Hutchinson is selected to be stoned to death. Although in her heart she knows that the lottery is unfair, she is too late and Tessie dies as a sacrifice for the crops to grow. Although she is being sacrificed for her town, this is not necessarily a reward for her nor for her family.

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 following the tradition of stoning. It's not because the person sinned and repenting but because of the belief that the village carries, a ritual, of someone being stoned to death which'll bring a better life and prosperity to others.