...In All Summer in a Day, Ray Bradbury uses symbolism, metaphors and similes to show the children's connection to the sun. The kids can only explain the sun by comparing it to things they know. They always compare the sun to positive things in their life. While some may say All Summer in a Day is about personification and imagery, there are more examples of symbolism, metaphors, and similes in the story. In the kid’s mind the sun can do no wrong, this shows the sun importance to them. In All Summer in a Day, Ray Bradbury uses symbolism, metaphors, and similes to show the children's connection to the sun. Since the children have never fully experienced the sun, they compare the sun to things they have experienced.“It's like a penny, she said”,...
Words: 618 - Pages: 3
...demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Backpack p. 236). That quote alone is shown throughout “The Lottery” because there is most definitely a shock factor at the end of the story. A reader almost must read it twice to fully comprehend all that goes on in the town square of Jacksons’ story. However, as one reads “The Lottery”, one can identify many comparisons using symbolism and when one reads the story again, one can identify even more symbols. In Shirley Jacksons’ short story, “The Lottery”, there are many different items in the book like names, a three-legged table, a black box, and stones to show symbolism and allegory throughout the story. Jackson places her symbols in a specific order and it is that order in which the symbols have the most impact. The first symbol that comes along in the story is Mr. Summers. Mr. Summers is described as, “a...
Words: 1428 - Pages: 6
...Fisher 1 Stacey Fisher Professor Bailey English 1302 10 FEB 2014 “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a compelling story about rituals, symbolism, scapegoats, and the use of unnecessary violence to portray the cruelty of human nature. The story takes place on a warm June 27th day at 10am, the weather is clear and sunny. The townspeople of a small village of more than 300 gather for a yearly ritual, the lottery. The townspeople talk and joke as the children run and play. A black box is introduced and the people start the process of choosing the scapegoat this year, the one to be stoned to death. The turn of events in this story just goes to show you the rituals, symbolism, and the unnecessary violence in human society. Every year the lottery serves as a ritual and the black box is introduced. The black box symbolizes death to one of the villagers who will be the scapegoat for all. Mr. Summers, the lottery official follows some of these rituals by asking questions they all know the answers to. He did so, in my opinion, to keep it official and fair or uniform to all. Another ritual Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves performed was to fill the box the night before with the slips of paper to be used the next morning. They performed this year after year. The ritual itself involved the heads of the households to draw from the box and the one who drew the black dot would return his dot to the black box. They would count his family members and that many...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...town. The story sets place in a small town in New England. Every year a lottery is held, in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for seventy-seven years by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Shirley uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the lottery. The names of each character in this story hold significant meaning to the lottery. The name "Delacroix" is an example. In" The Lottery," Shirley explains "the villagers pronounced this name 'Dellacroy'." According to Nathan Cervo "[I]n French, 'Delacroix' means "of the Cross'" (Cervo). Incorrect pronouncing this word provoked the Christian symbol of martyrdom. Another the exam is the name "Summer." summer is, as Amy A Griffin describes, "a time usually associated with cheerfulness" (Griffin). In "The Lottery" Summer is the name of a businessman who is responsible for conducting the Lottery. Ironically, Mr. Summer is assisted by Mr. Graves--the word "grave" usually represents for death. By naming the conductor of the Lottery Summer and Grave, respectively, the author implies that there will be an unfortunate event during the summer. Altogether, the symbolic names above play a role as a forewarning note of an unfortunate outcome of "The Lottery." As well as the character's names, each object in "The Lottery" has a certain meaning to the story. One of the objects in "The Lottery" is the "stone". In...
Words: 871 - Pages: 4
...Jackson starts the first paragraph with pleasant and happy words to describe the morning of the town lottery. Later on in the story, she reveals that what would happen later on that day, was not at all how the lottery worked. Though most of the townspeople thought this lottery was normal, when chosen, doubt and plead for mercy was not uncommon. “The Lottery” includes, heavy foreshadowing, symbolism, and setting to emphasize the story and trick the audience. In the beginning, Jackson uses foreshadowing quite a bit to explain how the people of the town act on their way and prior to the lottery. Blindly carrying out this tradition with no regard for what was to come. One of the main things that stands...
Words: 639 - Pages: 3
...Velma Johnson English 200-E81 July 5, 2014 “The Lottery” foreshadows and settings Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery”, this story filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very real in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. “The Lottery” clearly couriers Jackson's feelings concerning mankind’s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of “The Lottery”, the objects, the people’s actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants. The setting of the story helps to magnify its impact on the reader because it is set in a small town similar to the one many of us may know of, and that is symbolic of everything that we consider to be right in America. The story begins on a magnificent summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very joyful but strikes a contrast between the surroundings of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is sober, where the adults, stood together, away from the stones in the corner, and their “jokes were quiet and they smiled rather...
Words: 1564 - Pages: 7
...“Summer Solstice, New York City”, by Sharon Olds is a poem that explains a scene in which a man wants to commit suicide by jumping off a building, but in the end police officers make him rethink his decision. The man is described as being on the ledge of a building when officers rushed towards him and prevented him from jumping. The poem portrays many issues including, setting, theme and symbolism that aids in comprehending the author’s purpose. Immediately, the title of the poem gives us a clue of the setting. Summer Solstice means it was the longest day of the year. New York is one of the most populated and busiest cities in the United States, making it fairly easy for one to feel lonely and unimportant like the man in the poem. When the...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...In the novel The Great Gatsby the author F. Scott Fitzgerald uses a multitude of literary devices to create the beautifully written piece. Foreshadowing and symbolism are the most important techniques used by him to make the reader have a stronger interpretation of the novel and to allow it to have a greater meaning. One of the key elements that Fitzgerald uses symbolism and foreshadowing for is death. Death is a main occurrence in the novel and Fitzgerald often alludes to it to give his novel a second dimension and allow the reader to become interactive with the reading. Many important characters of objects in the novel are symbols of death and destruction and these use of these symbols help to foreshadow when a death may occur. Thus...
Words: 1230 - Pages: 5
...questioning the society in 1948, is reflected in the shocking short story. The scope of this literary essay is to examine the use of symbolism, foreshadowing and irony which represent the negative consequence of the lottery. In “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, Jackson uses symbolism, foreshadowing and irony to illustrate how society conforms to honor traditions which are outdated and barbarian. Jackson’s use of objects and names in the story symbolize the religious and symbolic meaning which leads to the brutal death of an innocent. In the story stones are very symbolic as it represents the death of an innocent individual. Stoning is a few methods...
Words: 875 - Pages: 4
...The horrors of the real world are explored in the short story, The Flowers by Alice Walker. The story opens with a young girl named Myop enjoying a nice summer day and takes a very dark turn when Myop ventures into the nearby forest. In the forest, she discovers a dead man on the ground, who has been lynched. Myop's loss of childhood innocence is shown through cryptic symbolism, intriguing foreshadowing, and the author's drastic use tone. To begin with, the author uses symbolism in her writing to further convey the theme of Myop's loss of blissful unawareness to the real world. The text states, " "Myop laid down her flowers. And the summer was over." The summer symbolizes the happy child that Myop was and her inability to see the real world. Now, after going through such an unforgettable experience Myop has aged emotionally well-beyond her years. By comparing Myop's obliviousness to the summer the author demonstrates that becoming aware of the real world can be scary, but necessary....
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...102: Literature and Composition Summer 2013 Aleta Byrd APA Format Outline Thesis: Symbolism in The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is descriptive of a young adult's private struggle regarding which path in life to take. I. Thesis and Introduction II. Symbolism of setting a. "Morning" symbolic of beginning of life in line 11 b. "Yellow wood" symbolic of sunrise and beginning in line 1 c. "Wood" in line 18 symbolic of private/inner struggle in line 18 III. Symbolism showing longing for both paths a. "Sorry" in line 2 b. "And both that morning equally lay" in line 11 IV. Symbolism showing backup plan a. "Kept the first for another day" in line 13 V. Symbolism showing satisfaction with choice a. "Made all the difference" in line 20 VI. Conclusion Symbolism in The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost is descriptive of a young adult's private struggle regarding which path in life to take. The many symbols in the poem show a young person who is indecisive about which choice to make and the longing to choose each option in front of them. The symbolism follows the person's indecision through to decision and finally shows satisfaction with the choice made. The first display of symbolism occurs in line 1, where he utilizes the term "yellow wood" to show the earliness of day, reminding the reader of sunrise and also showing symbolically a beginning. Again in line 11, Frost uses the term "morning" to show both the time of day and also symbolize the early stage...
Words: 650 - Pages: 3
...Even though the mood is relaxing, there is a premonition of something bad to come C. Ending: The ending is implied IV. NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE’S “YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN” D. Setting the tone: feeling of something evil to come E. Symbolism i. Faith – the wife and commitment to Jesus ii. Venture in to the forest – Journey of life iii. Traveler’s staff – Satan in the Garden of Eden F. Ending: Was it real or was it a dream? V. CONCLUSION A thorough analysis of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” reveals that different literary elements, such as tone and setting, are used to convey the characters’ arrival at dark, sinister places. Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” are two short stories that use completely opposite ways to get to the same destination: a dark, sinister place. Both stories are very dark, and almost morbid, but one story keeps the reader oblivious to the tragic event that is being set up, while the other story lays it out very plainly and clearly for the reader to feel from the start. In “The Lottery,” Jackson generates a feeling of peace and ease. The stage is set like a casual summer day of shopping. Jackson’s tone and artistic attention to detail gives the reader an unguarded, peaceful, relaxing feeling. However, even with a relaxed feeling, the reader may start to develop a premonition that this is...
Words: 1051 - Pages: 5
...change. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson illuminates the struggle of human survival. We as human are instinctively designed to preserve our lives, as we know it. Jackson uses symbolism, setting, irony and structure in the essay, to show to that life is a gamble. Most of use is creatures of habit. We don’t adjust to changes that interfere with our way of life. In the story of “The Lottery”, Jackson uses irony to show a slip of paper can cause a life changing event. Mrs. Hutchinson was late to the lottery because of her dishes. Somehow her dishes seemed more important than getting to the lottery on time. But once she remembered what the day was she went a running. As she arrived the villagers were making fun of her because she was late. Her explanation,” Wouldn’t have me leave m’ dishes in the sink now, would you Joe?” (12-13) or perhaps maybe she felt the fear of possibly losing one of her family members. One could even see the metaphoric belief if she is late maybe the lottery itself would just go away and not take place. How does a family accept having to participate in a tradition that is fatal ritual? Every thing seemed so fun and jokingly until the Hutchinson family made their deadly draw. It was ironically when Mr. Hutchinson drew the death paper for his family “Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair” (15). Mothers will do anything to protect their families. Ironically moments ago...
Words: 940 - Pages: 4
...“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson portraying a ritual practiced by human beings in a small village of roughly three hundred people. This ritual, named the lottery, happens every year on June 27th to be exact, is a ritual in which a villager at random gets selected to get stoned to death by the whole village. Through the use of symbolism and imagery, Jackson deflowers the true meaning of the lottery through names and objects, as well as unfolds and put the corrupted patriarchal system on the spot light. From the opening sentence of the story, Jackson uses imagery to establish an innocent and peaceful atmosphere: “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...A Comparison of Symbolism in “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Lottery” Symbolism is when the author uses an object or reference to add deeper meaning to a story. Symbolism in literature can be subtle or blatant; it can also be used sparingly or considerably. An author may repeatedly use the same object to convey deeper meaning or may use variations of the same object to create an overarching mood or feeling. Many authors use symbolism to further foretell and capture the important elements of the story. Both Nathaniel Hawthorne in “Young Goodman Brown" and Shirley Jackson in “The Lottery’, use symbolism in these short stories. The stories both contain symbols describing evil. Hawthorne’s symbolism describes good versus evil, while Jackson's symbolism reflects the evil nature within society as a whole. The first two characters that Hawthorne introduces, Young Goodman Brown and his wife Faith, are both symbolic in their names. Brown's name symbolizes youth and good nature. Brown is a young man throughout the story, and his youth suggests that he has yet to be corrupted by the world and is still innocent. Hawthorne writes, "Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her cap, while she called to Goodman Brown" (Hawthorne 331). Faith’s name symbolizes the trust and virtue that is found within a good wife. It may also hint at the faith that Young Goodman Brown struggles to hang Haney 2 onto. As...
Words: 865 - Pages: 4
