...“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, is one of the most interesting short stories there are. Jackson described her purpose of writing by stating her it as, “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic 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...
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...In Shirley Jacksons, ‘’The Lottery’’ creates a story that’s filled with symbolism, dramatic irony. Born in 1919 Shirley Jackson was an American author who wrote countless stories one better than the next but her most famous story is ‘’The Lottery’’ written in 1948 for new Yorker magazine the story offended readers because of how it suggested that evil could be carried out so easily and that stoning was a pointless and a violent sacrifice many of them cancelled their subscriptions because of how offensive the story was. Jackson’s use of irony and symbolism is brilliant and it is seen in all her stories. The use of symbolism is very present throughout the whole story. Which has different types of symbols with different types of meanings. Like For example, the representation of the stool that they use to put the black box on or even the black box itself. in “The Lottery’’Shirley Jackson wrote, "...
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...Thesis: In Shirley Jackson’s “The lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. In Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery,” symbolism is used to hint at the overall theme of the story. The lottery in this particular story is not used for good fortune but instead is used for death and sacrifice. Jackson combines characters, objects, and actions to create the symbolism. There are many characters, both major and minor, that demonstrate symbolism in this story. Jackson uses seemingly normal people from an apparently normal town. The postman is named Mr. Graves, a name that symbolizes death. He holds a leading role as an official in the lottery. Mr. Summers is another character who holds a major role. His name projects thoughts of summer and the season of life. His name is ironic due to the dark ritual and the part he plays in the lottery. Jackson uses various symbols to portray this grim event along with particular elements that hint towards the ending of the story. The story shows the coldness people can have which can be seen in their values and tradition. The black box is a symbol of the past. The color black represents evil or death. The box embodies the past and shows what’s to come. In the story, the villagers were afraid to even follow Mr. Summer’s idea for making a new box because they did not want to upset tradition. While the lottery was taking place, Mr. Adams said to old man Warner, “over in the north village they are talking about...
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...Professor ENGL 102-B54 LUO 3 February 2014 “The Lottery” vs. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” In “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H. Lawrence, and “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the two authors illustrate symbols and themes throughout their stories in which one common idea is present: perhaps winning is not always positive. “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D.H. Lawrence is a fictional story about a woman’s obsession for money and the lack of love and affection she shows to her family. Her son Paul hopes to change his mother’s mind-set in order to gain her love by becoming lucky. Paul discovers a way to become lucky from a rocking horse that he receives as a Christmas present. He perceives that this horse has magical powers, which empowers him to predict the winner of horse races. Paul becomes more and more obsessed with becoming lucky to appease his mother but eventually loses his life. “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, is a short story of an annual tradition in which a small New England town randomly draws one person’s name to be the winner of the lottery. This lucky person will neither win money nor a special prize; instead are stoned to death by the rest of the community. This story gives a different meaning to the event called a lottery. D.H. Lawrence proves many points by using the following themes: obsession for money, trying to win a mother’s love and affection, gaining no affection after achieving such luck, and death. "The Rocking-Horse Winner,"...
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... Thesis Statement The themes of the short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking- Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence are similar in the way that they both use a game of chance or gambling in the presentation. Both of these stories are based on luck but instead of happiness being the ultimate prize for winning, death is the tragic outcome. Outline Introduction/Thesis paragraph I. Underlying message from the stories about the problems not directly addressed a. Lottery i. Conforming to traditions even when they are wrong or outdated b. Rocking Horse Winner i. Love or worship of materialistic things instead of each other II. Objects used by the author for symbolism a. Lottery i. Black box even though all other items have been forgotten b. Rocking Horse Winner i. Wooden rocking horse to symbolize the horses in the race III. Authors use of the gamble a. Lottery i. Being drawn means the prize is getting stoned to death b. Rocking Horse Winner i. Although the prediction of the race winner is correct Paul ends up dead and still without his mother’s love IV. Conclusion a. Restate and reword thesis and close. Playing the lottery or betting on horse races is a game of chance where the ultimate prize is money and fortune. The themes of the short stories, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking- Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence are similar in...
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...The short story, “The Lottery”, was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. Shirley Jackson wrote it while she was living on Prospect Street in North Bennington, Vermont. It took her less than two hours to write this story. “The Lottery” is a story about a sacrifice that’s made on the same day every year where a lottery determines which family, and which individual of the family, gets stoned to death. There are many different pieces of symbolism in this story. One of the items in this story that uses symbolism, and probably the most important, is the black box. It represents the tradition of the lottery and the illogic of the villagers’ loyalty to it. “The black box grew shabbier each year” (2), and it was “splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained” (2), showing it’s age, meaning that the lottery has been going on for a long, long time. They are unwilling to replace it. They plan on replacing it each year, but they never do. They are attached to it because a story claims that the box is made of pieces of...
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...Society’s conformation to honor traditions Shirley Jackson’s observation on individuals not 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...
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...The idea of tradition is one that most people are typically fearful to break away from. Whether the tradition is something one has created or one that they have always been a part of, people never seem to question why they are a part of it. If one was to question why this tradition exists, the answer is, more often than not, “because it’s tradition”. It can never be answered because for the most part, no one truly knows where certain traditions came from and just have come the conclusion that they are not meant to question it. In the case of the people in, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, they have the same fear of breaking what has been a lifelong tradition in their town. While the opening scenes depict a glorious day full of happy town members, Jackson is planning on turning the day into a treacherous one by the end of the story. Throughout the story, Jackson is using an array of symbols to give an uneasy feeling to the reader. These symbols are used to help portray the idea that by accepting these traditions can lead to terrible consequences. Looking at the title of this short story is something that is very important to what Jackson is trying to convey within the rest of the story. The lottery, in general, is a celebration of someone who has won. Although it is the case that someone does “win” in Jackson’s story, it is not the kind of winning that most people would celebrate. As for the people within the town, it is more that they are celebrating not being picked...
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...Brown” and “The Lottery” By: Melissa A. Reeves Professor Andrew Smith ENGL 102-B46 LUO Thesis Statement The stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” both appear to show that human behavior and judgment can be flawed, even if the person’s intentions appear good to them. There is a level of fear and underlying evil in Puritan settings in both stories. I. Introduction/Statement of Thesis II. Themes and Author’s Purpose A. The Lottery i. Just because something has always been done, does not make it right or just; following the crowd can be dangerously wrong and evil. ii. The author shows through symbolism and storytelling that people can be easily influenced by society and those around them. iii. Also, the themes or persecution is addressed. B. Young Goodman Brown i. The theme is that believing that you are a righteous person does not always make you righteous. ii. The idea of doing one evil thing, but justifying it because it is only one time and he will never do it again and will be a good man afterward is addressed. III. Conclusion Symbolism found within “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown” Melissa A. Reeves Liberty University Professor Andrew Smith 08/03/2014 Symbolism is found within both stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown”. In both stories, symbols help in conveying the theme to the reader. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, symbols are used to help...
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...Student: Tutor: Course: Date: The Lottery: Annotated Bibliography Nebeker, Helen. The Lottery: Symbolic Tour de Force", in American Literature, Vol. 46, No. 1, March, 1974, pp. 100-07. Print. Nebeker uses this piece of literary work to argue that each and every name used in “The Lottery” has a special or distinct significance (3). The author hints at some of the larger meanings, especially through name symbolism. At the end of the second paragraph, for instance, Nebeker asserts that Jackson had indicated and presented the season. It was time of ancient sacrifice and excess, with stones representing the most ancient sacrificial weapons (2). Apart from that, the name Martin signifies monkey or ape. The above is juxtaposed intentionally with Dickie Delacroix and Harry Jones with an aim of urging the people to be aware of the Ape residing within them. Indeed, “Delacroix has been vulgarized in the story to “Dellacroy,” who becomes the first person to pick a large stone something that encourages others to stone Mrs. Hutchinson. The above is a clear indication of forces against change in the society. The presence of Old Man Martin further symbolizes conservatives whose role is to undermine any attempt to discard old traditions (3). In a nutshell, this is a reliable source for my research since Nebeker has made every possible attempt to identify various facts about the historical context of the short story. Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Mankato, Minnesota: The Creative Company...
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...The authors Shirley Jackson and Nathaniel Hawthorne, both frequently use different tone, style, symbols, and imagery within their stories “The Lottery” and “Young Goodman Brown.” Symbols are utilized as an enhancement tool to stress the theme of a story. The two short stories written by Jackson and Hawthorne are both thought provoking and full of evil. Many symbols are used to help develop the themes of both of the stories. The short stories both share the use of symbols, tone, style, and imagery to express different thoughts when reading them. Hopefully, by discussing the two short stories, their differences and similarities will be carefully explained. Jackson establishes the setting of "The Lottery" at the beginning of the story. On the morning of June 27th, a sunny and pleasant summer day, in the village...
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...The author of “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson, uses location, scenery, two items, and names hidden in symbolism and allegory to describe the true meaning of this strange and creepy short story. The title “The Lottery” makes readers believe it is about money or winning something valuable. Surprisingly the ending is not associated with any type of lottery yet portrayed with murder and the act of stoning innocent people to death. At the beginning of the story, Jackson describes the setting, as a place where the “grass was richly green” and “flowers were blossoming profusely” which makes the reader think it is a happy town full of happy people, which it is not. Jackson began her story like that to distract the reader from the true meaning of what the towns people to do each other. It is a place where killing innocent person...
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...Shawna Parker Jonathan Cook English 112 28 September 2008 The Deadly Traditions Throughout the course of life, families have traditions and cultural norms. As you get older or the family grows traditions sometimes need to 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...
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...Young Goodman Brown and The Lottery The comparison and contrasts between The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (1948) and Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne (1835) in this essay takes on the topic of “blindly following traditions”(Jackson, 1948) and “the weakness of the public morality” (Hawthorne, 1835). While the entire society members are under the authority of Old Man Warner are employed in The Lottery, The character of Goodman Brown is employed to depict the theme. Young Goodman Brown, by Hawthorne (1835), “The Weakness of Public Morality” In this story, the author emphasizes how corruption is the result of the insistence on the Puritan society and is the cause of moral decline and the diminishment of personal faith. Goodman makes the decision to go to the forest to meet the devil however, he takes cover when he realizes that the minister and the Deacon Gookin because he was concerned with appearance even though they are also out there. Brown’s religious beliefs are strongly connected with the belief that all of his peers believe the same as he does. When Goodman recognizes that his peers including his father and grandfather shaped his religious beliefs made a deal with the devil, he...
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...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...
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