Premium Essay

Horror And Suspense In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Submitted By
Words 232
Pages 1
Horror and suspense stories or dramas contain actions reflecting the dark side of humanity. All the stories in this last unit have had at least one dark action, depending on the story, sometimes more than one action is shown in the story. However, for this essay we’ll focus on the story “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, and explore one of the dark actions incorporated in this story.

In the story, “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, we see how that at the end, whoever is unlucky to “win” the lottery is then stoned. This is to ensure that the village would thrive until the next year, where the same process would happen again, and then the next year the same, and the next, and the next. The story would have changed had the villagers considered

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

The Lottery Summary

...THE LOTTERY - SUMMARY In A Nutshell "The Lottery" caused major controversy when it was first published in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. Shirley Jackson's implicit critique of the brutality underlying the rituals and values of America's small towns outraged magazine readers, many of whom cancelled their subscriptions (see the Encyclopedia Britannica for more on the tale's publication history). As a side note – Jackson based "The Lottery" on her life in North Bennington, Vermont (source). Some of us here at Shmoop happen to be from that fine state, and we'd like to assure all potential tourists that despite what you may read in "The Lottery," you don't have to worry about sudden stoning in the Green Mountain State. Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The anonymous, generic village in which "The Lottery" is set, in addition to the vicious twist the story gives to a common American ritual, enhance the contemporary reader's uneasy sense that the group violence in the story could be taking place anywhere and everywhere, right now. Jackson's skillful warping of a popular pastime has become an American classic, establishing her position as one of the great American horror writers. Why Should I Care? So, if you've ever been hanging out with a group of friends and done something truly stupid, you may have heard the refrain, "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?" Your answer is probably "no," but Shirley Jackson disagrees. She thinks you – and...

Words: 5311 - Pages: 22

Free Essay

Essay Comparison

...FICTION ESSAY Robert Martinez ENGL 102-D14 April 7, 2014 By reading Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Graham Greene’s “The Destructors,” the reader is transported into two different stories where the characters are affected by their surroundings or society in a negative and horrific fashion. The authors paint a clear picture as to how society (the way it was, it is or could be), easily and harshly affects the people that live in it. They are marked, impacted and forever affected by what has taken place around them, and their character and attitude towards everyday life is created by the very circumstances they find themselves. The setting, tone, and overall theme, found in these two short stories expose the reader to these unfortunate transitions of attitudes (or lack thereof) over generations. The setting of Graham’s “The Destructors” takes place in a war torn England at the end of World War II, “on the eve of August Bank Holiday.” A group or “gang” of young boys meet in an impromptu car park. They are known as the Wormsley Common Gang and are led by their new gang leader “T”. Mr. Thomas’ (or Old Misery as the gang calls him) house is the focus of the gang’s disapproval of anything valuable in their society. Their mind can only fathom destruction, ruin and rubble and so to save Mr. Thomas from his “misery” they make plans to destroy anything that is beautiful, starting with his house. Unlike their parents, who perhaps had the opportunity to experience the beauty of...

Words: 1206 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Literary Devices In The Lottery

...devices in “The Lottery” Literary devices are specific language techniques that are used in a text to make it clearer. Shirley Jackson author of infamous horror story, “The Lottery”, uses five literary devices such as symbolism, allegory, foreshadowing, theme and irony. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. This literary device is used most often throughout the short story to keep the suspenseful ending a surprise rather than a shock. Three main symbols are used in this story, the title “The Lottery”, the black box, and stones. The reader can look at the “The Lottery” title itself to see it exemplifies symbolism. A lottery typically represents...

Words: 1135 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Stoning of Soraya M.

...Present THE STONING OF SORAYA M. Directed by CYRUS NOWRASTEH Starring SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO MOZHAN MARNÒ and JIM CAVIEZEL Written by BETSY GIFFEN NOWRASTEH & CYRUS NOWRASTEH Based on the book “The Stoning of Soraya M.” by FREIDOUNE SAHEBJAM Rated R for a disturbing sequence of cruel and brutal violence, and brief strong language 114 Minutes NY PUBLICITY: Lina Plath/Clare Anne Darragh Frank PR 99 John St., #225 New York, NY 10038 Tel: 646-861-0843 Lina@frankpublicity.com ClareAnne@frankpublicity.com LA PUBLICITY: Fredell Pogodin/Bradley Jones Fredell Pogodin & Associates 7223 Beverly Blvd., Suite 202 Los Angeles, CA 90036 Tel: 323-931-7300 pr@fredellpogodin.com ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS: Veronica Bufalini/Meghann Burns Roadside Attractions 7920 Sunset Blvd. #402 Los Angeles, CA 90046 Tel: 323-882-8490 VeronicaB@roadsideattractions.com MeghannB@roadsideattractions.com For publicity materials, please visit: www.roadsideattractionspublicity.com Official Website: www.thestoning.com THE STONING OF SORAYA M. ABOUT THE FILM In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally charged experience of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. Based on an incredible true story, this powerful tale of a village’s persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about mob rule. Who will join forces with the plot against her, who will...

Words: 11915 - Pages: 48

Premium Essay

Frank Wood’s Business Accounting Tenth Edition

...FRANK WOOD’S business accounting TENTH EDITION 1 FRANK WOOD & ALAN SANGSTER Additional student support at www.pearsoned.co.uk/wood FRANK WOOD’S business accounting 1 Visit the Business Accounting, tenth edition Companion Website at www.pearsoned.co.uk/wood to find valuable student learning material including: l l l l l l Learning objectives for each chapter Multiple choice questions to help test your learning Review questions and answers Links to relevant sites on the web Searchable online glossary Flashcards to test your knowledge of key terms and definitions Frank Wood 1926–2000 FRANK WOOD’S business accounting TENTH EDITION 1 FRANK WOOD BSc (Econ), FCA and ALAN SANGSTER BA, MSc, Cert TESOL, CA Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE and Associated Companies throughout the world. Visit us on the World Wide Web at www.pearsoned.co.uk First edition published in 1967 Second edition published under the Longman imprint in 1972 Third edition published in 1979 Fourth edition published in 1984 Fifth edition published in 1989 Sixth edition published in 1993 Seventh edition published in 1996 Eighth edition published under the Financial Times Pitman Publishing imprint in 1999 Ninth edition published in 2002 Tenth edition published 2005 © Frank Wood 1967 © Longman Group UK Limited 1972, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1993 © Pearson Professional Limited 1996 © Financial Times Professional Limited 1999 © Pearson Education Limited...

Words: 217335 - Pages: 870

Premium Essay

Business

...p t e r 1 Prewriting GETTING STARTED (OR SOUP-CAN LABELS CAN BE FASCINATING) For many writers, getting started is the hardest part. You may have noticed that when it is time to begin a writing assignment, you suddenly develop an enormous desire to straighten your books, water your plants, or sharpen your pencils for the fifth time. If this situation sounds familiar, you may find it reassuring to know that many professionals undergo these same strange compulsions before they begin writing. Jean Kerr, author of Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, admits that she often finds herself in the kitchen reading soup-can labels—or anything—in order to prolong the moments before taking pen in hand. John C. Calhoun, vice president under Andrew Jackson, insisted he had to plow his fields before he could write, and Joseph Conrad, author of Lord Jim and other novels, is said to have cried on occasion from the sheer dread of sitting down to compose his stories. To spare you as much hand-wringing as possible, this chapter presents some practical suggestions on how to begin writing your short essay. Although all writers must find the methods that work best for them, you may find some of the following ideas helpful. But no matter how you actually begin putting words on paper, it is absolutely essential to maintain two basic ideas concerning your writing task. Before you write a single sentence, you should always remind yourself that 1. You have some valuable ideas to tell your reader, and 2...

Words: 234754 - Pages: 940

Free Essay

Organization

...cover next page > title author publisher isbn10 | asin print isbn13 ebook isbn13 language subject publication date lcc ddc subject : : : : : : : : : : : cover next page > < previous page page_i next page > Page i 1100 Words You Need to Know Fourth Edition Murray Bromberg Principal Emeritus Andrew Jackson High School, Queens, New York Melvin Gordon Reading Specialist New York City Schools . . . Invest fifteen minutes a day for forty-six weeks in order to master 920 new words and almost 200 useful idioms < previous page page_i next page > < previous page page_ii next page > Page ii © Copyright 2000 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. Prior edition © Copyright 1993, 1987, 1971 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, microfilm, xerography, or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner. All inquiries should be addressed to: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788 http://www.barronseduc.com Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 00-030344 International Standard Book Number 0-7641-1365-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bromberg, Murray. 1100 words you need to know / Murray Bromberg, Melvin Gordon. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-7641-1365-8 1. Vocabulary. I. Title: Eleven hundred words you need...

Words: 125626 - Pages: 503

Free Essay

Idioms and Expression

...Idioms and Expressions by David Holmes A method for learning and remembering idioms and expressions I wrote this model as a teaching device during the time I was working in Bangkok, Thailand, as a legal editor and language consultant, with one of the Big Four Legal and Tax companies, KPMG (during my afternoon job) after teaching at the university. When I had no legal documents to edit and no individual advising to do (which was quite frequently) I would sit at my desk, (like some old character out of a Charles Dickens’ novel) and prepare language materials to be used for helping professionals who had learned English as a second language—for even up to fifteen years in school—but who were still unable to follow a movie in English, understand the World News on TV, or converse in a colloquial style, because they’d never had a chance to hear and learn common, everyday expressions such as, “It’s a done deal!” or “Drop whatever you’re doing.” Because misunderstandings of such idioms and expressions frequently caused miscommunication between our management teams and foreign clients, I was asked to try to assist. I am happy to be able to share the materials that follow, such as they are, in the hope that they may be of some use and benefit to others. The simple teaching device I used was three-fold: 1. Make a note of an idiom/expression 2. Define and explain it in understandable words (including synonyms.) 3. Give at least three sample sentences to illustrate how the expression is used...

Words: 237262 - Pages: 950

Premium Essay

Leadership

...Fourth Edition Reframing Organizations Artistry, Choice, and Leadership LEE G. BOLMAN TERRENCE E. DEAL B est- se l l i n g a u t h o rs of LEADING WITH SOUL FOURTH EDITION Reframing Organizations Artistry, Choice, and Leadership Lee G. Bolman • Terrence E. Deal Copyright © 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-6468600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-7486011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Credits are on page 528. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer...

Words: 193447 - Pages: 774

Free Essay

Test2

...62118 0/nm 1/n1 2/nm 3/nm 4/nm 5/nm 6/nm 7/nm 8/nm 9/nm 1990s 0th/pt 1st/p 1th/tc 2nd/p 2th/tc 3rd/p 3th/tc 4th/pt 5th/pt 6th/pt 7th/pt 8th/pt 9th/pt 0s/pt a A AA AAA Aachen/M aardvark/SM Aaren/M Aarhus/M Aarika/M Aaron/M AB aback abacus/SM abaft Abagael/M Abagail/M abalone/SM abandoner/M abandon/LGDRS abandonment/SM abase/LGDSR abasement/S abaser/M abashed/UY abashment/MS abash/SDLG abate/DSRLG abated/U abatement/MS abater/M abattoir/SM Abba/M Abbe/M abbé/S abbess/SM Abbey/M abbey/MS Abbie/M Abbi/M Abbot/M abbot/MS Abbott/M abbr abbrev abbreviated/UA abbreviates/A abbreviate/XDSNG abbreviating/A abbreviation/M Abbye/M Abby/M ABC/M Abdel/M abdicate/NGDSX abdication/M abdomen/SM abdominal/YS abduct/DGS abduction/SM abductor/SM Abdul/M ab/DY abeam Abelard/M Abel/M Abelson/M Abe/M Aberdeen/M Abernathy/M aberrant/YS aberrational aberration/SM abet/S abetted abetting abettor/SM Abeu/M abeyance/MS abeyant Abey/M abhorred abhorrence/MS abhorrent/Y abhorrer/M abhorring abhor/S abidance/MS abide/JGSR abider/M abiding/Y Abidjan/M Abie/M Abigael/M Abigail/M Abigale/M Abilene/M ability/IMES abjection/MS abjectness/SM abject/SGPDY abjuration/SM abjuratory abjurer/M abjure/ZGSRD ablate/VGNSDX ablation/M ablative/SY ablaze abler/E ables/E ablest able/U abloom ablution/MS Ab/M ABM/S abnegate/NGSDX abnegation/M Abner/M abnormality/SM abnormal/SY aboard ...

Words: 113589 - Pages: 455