Premium Essay

Use Of Imagery In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Submitted By
Words 705
Pages 3
“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 …show more content…
We meet Mr. Summers, the man in charge of the lottery, and coincidentally, the lottery just so happens to take place during the summer. Along with Mr. Summers an introduction of Mr. Graves is introduced into the story. Mr. Graves is Mr. Summers’s assistant for the lottery, and after meeting both characters, an eerie atmosphere starts to form. Mr. Graves’s name alone instantaneously foreshadows a death by the end of the story. The most symbolic and religious object of the story is the black box that’s used for the lottery. It’s used to draw pieces of paper for the lottery, and literally determines whether the townspeople lives or dies. Even the black that has rusted from the box can be symbolic for evilness and death, which can be interpreted as ironic because the primary purpose in the lottery is to sacrifice one life, so there can be rain for the crops so the townspeople can live; however there’s nothing holy or righteous in this ritual. At this point in the story Jackson has shifted from an innocent and peaceful atmosphere to an eerie and suspicious one, leaving the readers anxious as to what the lottery really …show more content…
This difference between the two is called feminist criticism. We first get a glimpse of this when “Bobby Martin ducked under his mother’s grasping hand and ran, laughing… his father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly…” It shows how men have more control over women, even with kids. Another example of feminist criticism is how only the man of the house can draw for the household, for example when Mrs. Dunbar stated that she’d be the one to draw for her husband, Mr. Summers quickly in defense asked about her oldest son, insisting the idea that he draw in her place, knowing full well he wasn’t of age to do so

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Annotated Bibliography

...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...

Words: 1285 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Similarities Between The Lottery And Young Goodman Brown

...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...

Words: 1005 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

The Lottery

...Jim Andrzejeweski English Composition 102 Sect. 83 01/28/2009 Critical Essay on Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery “The Lottery” is shocking and horrible. A woman, (Mrs. Hutchins,) is selected and stoned to death by her friends and family because they believe her death will ensure a bountiful harvest. Jackson’s writing, character buildup, and imagery in the story are a thing of beauty. By use of her more than apparent skill as a writer, Jackson exposes a poignant and disturbing look into the darker side of humanity. Jackson uses adjectives like sunny, fresh, and full to describe the beauty of the summer’s day on which this “lottery” is being held; but all is not well in the small rural village. Whole paragraphs describe the children, the townsfolk and the general air of importance that surrounds the event. The black box that the townspeople draw tickets out of, gets stored in various different shops during the years time between each event; almost as if no one wants to accept full responsibility for it. There is also a disturbing undertone of “this is the way it has always been” “we have always had a lottery,” almost as if most of the town was trying to justify the performing of the lottery. The lotteries black wooden box is transformed into an ominous symbolic tool. Mrs. Hutchinson is introduced and woven superbly into the plot until her untimely demise for agriculture. In the lottery, we can see just how far a society will go so that it can prosper. Of course we...

Words: 718 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Fiction Essay

...of literature can prove to be the characters that the author creates. In the instance of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” the characters are built and the story is wrapped around the individual characterizations. In both Jackson’s and Lawrence’s short stories the reader is allowed to assume any of the possible details to fill in the missing parts of the story. It is not until the end that the reader understands that the characters were giving away the ending the throughout the story. Along with the relationships established, the dialogue and simply executed actions of the main characters the story begins to unfold. The family and friends that are closest to the main character tends to make the story. In both cases of “The Lottery” and “ The Rocking Horse Winner” the extras of the short stories help to reveal the main characters real attitude, honest behavior, and their transparent emotions. In “The Lottery” it is evident that the characters closest to the main character can easily fall in line with the rest of society; in “The Rocking Horse Winner” family and friends can do all they can to help and still not be enough. In “The Lottery”, Jackson begins by setting the up the events that will inevitable come to pass. A few characters are introduced towards the beginning but who they are is not as important as their actions. Following the imagery of the location Jackson introduces Mr. Summers, one of the most prominent characters. As...

Words: 1780 - Pages: 8

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

Premium Essay

The Lottery Foreshadowing

...cover can be important to allude to the story inside. Even the smallest details on the cover can foreshadow deeper meaning than one might realize. The cover alone can potentially stand as its own story. For these reasons, I chose this cover by Adelaide C. Rooney for “The Lottery” because it illustrates the theme of the short story in a simple yet effective way. Rooney’s drawing capture’s Shirley Jackson’s story by highlighting the key component of innocence, while simultaneously displaying unique imagery of the text on the cover, and foreshadowing of the story itself. One reason this cover is a perfect fit for “The Lottery” is its...

Words: 1084 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Longman

...Edition Brief Edition Judith Nadell Linda McMeniman Rowan University John Langan Atlantic Cape Community College Prepared by: Eliza A. Comodromos Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New York San Francisco Boston London Toronto Sydney Tokyo Singapore Madrid Mexico City Munich Paris Cape Town Hong Kong Montreal NOTE REGARDING WEBSITES AND PASSWORDS: If you need a password to access instructor supplements on a Longman book-specific website, please use the following information: Username: Password: awlbook adopt Senior Acquisitions Editor: Joseph Opiela Senior Supplements Editor: Donna Campion Electronic Page Makeup: Big Color Systems, Inc. Instructor’s Manual to accompany The Longman Writer: Rhetoric, Reader, Handbook, 5e and The Longman Writer: Rhetoric and Reader, Brief Edition, 5e, by Nadell/McMeniman/Langan and Comodromos Copyright ©2003 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Instructors may reproduce portions of this book for classroom use only. All other reproductions are strictly prohibited without prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please visit our website at: http://www.ablongman.com ISBN: 0-321-13157-6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 - D O H - 05 04 03 02 CONTENTS THEMATIC CONTENTS vi COLLABORATIVE AND/OR PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES TEACHING COMPOSITION WITH THE LONGMAN WRITER A SUGGESTED SYLLABUS ANSWER KEY 19 PART 1: THE...

Words: 78100 - Pages: 313

Premium Essay

Business

...C h a 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,...

Words: 234754 - Pages: 940

Premium Essay

Will Do Next Time

...Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank to accompany A First Look at Communication Theory Sixth Edition Em Griffin Wheaton College prepared by Glen McClish San Diego State University and Emily J. Langan Wheaton College Published by McGraw­Hill, an imprint of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright Ó 2006,  2003, 2000, 1997, 1994, 1991 by The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may be reproduced in print form  solely for classroom use with A First Look At Communication Theory provided such reproductions bear copyright notice, but may not be reproduced in  any other form or for any other purpose without the prior written consent of The McGraw­Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any  network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. PREFACE Rationale We agreed to produce the instructor’s manual for the sixth edition of A First Look at Communication Theory because it’s a first-rate book and because we enjoy talking and writing about pedagogy. Yet when we recall the discussions we’ve had with colleagues about instructor’s manuals over the years, two unnerving comments stick with us: “I don’t find them much help”; and (even worse) “I never look at them.” And, if the truth be told, we were often the people making such points! With these statements in mind, we have done some serious soul-searching about the texts that so many teachers—ourselves...

Words: 159106 - Pages: 637

Premium Essay

世界是平的

...The World is Flat Thomas L Friedman Kq p K To Matt and Kay and to Ron Kq p K Contents How the World Became Flat One: While I Was Sleeping / 3 Two: The Ten Forces That Flattened the World / 48 Flattener#l. 11/9/89 Flattener #2. 8/9/95 Flattener #3. Work Flow Software Flattener #4. Open-Sourcing Flattener #5. Outsourcing Flattener #6. Offshoring Flattener #7. Supply-Chaining Flattener #8. Insourcing Flattener #9. In-forming Flattener #10. The Steroids Three: The Triple Convergence / 173 Four: The Great Sorting Out / 201 America and the Flat World Five: America and Free Trade / 225 Six: The Untouchables / 237 Seven: The Quiet Crisis / 250 Eight: This Is Not a Test / 276 Developing Countries and the Flat World Nine: The Virgin of Guadalupe / 309 Companies and the Flat World Geopolitics and the Flat World Eleven: The Unflat World / 371 Twelve: The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention / 414 Conclusion: Imagination Thirteen: 11/9 Versus 9/11 / 441 Acknowledgments I 471 Index I 475 Kq p K :::::How the World Became Flat ::::: ONE While I Was Sleeping Your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians, and princes who love and promote the holy Christian faith, and are enemies of the doctrine of Mahomet, and of all idolatry and heresy, determined to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the above-mentioned countries of India, to see the said princes, people, and territories, and to learn their disposition and the proper method of converting them to our...

Words: 170179 - Pages: 681

Premium Essay

California an Interpretive History - Rawls, James

...CALIFORNIA CALIFORNIA An Interpretive History TENTH EDITION James J. Rawls Instructor of History Diablo Valley College Walton Bean Late Professor of History University of California, Berkeley TM TM CALIFORNIA: AN INTERPRETIVE HISTORY, TENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2008, 2003, and 1998. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1234567890 QFR/QFR 10987654321 ISBN: 978-0-07-340696-1 MHID: 0-07-340696-1 Vice President & Editor-in-Chief: Michael Ryan Vice President EDP/Central Publishing Services: Kimberly Meriwether David Publisher: Christopher Freitag Sponsoring Editor: Matthew Busbridge Executive Marketing Manager: Pamela S. Cooper Editorial Coordinator: Nikki Weissman Project Manager: Erin Melloy Design Coordinator: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Carole Lawson Cover Image: Albert Bierstadt, American (born...

Words: 248535 - Pages: 995

Premium Essay

Integrated Marketing Communications

...President/Editor-in-Chief: Melissa S. Acuna Acquisitions Editor: Mike Roche Sr. Developmental Editor: Susanna C. Smart Marketing Manager: Mike Aliscad Content Project Manager: Corey Geissler Media Editor: John Rich Production Technology Analyst: Emily Gross Frontlist Buyer, Manufacturing: Diane Gibbons Production Service: PrePressPMG Sr. Art Director: Stacy Shirley Internal Designer: Chris Miller/cmiller design Cover Designer: Chris Miller/cmiller design Cover Image: Getty Images/The Image Bank Permission Aquistion Manager/Photo: Deanna Ettinger Permission Aquistion Manager/Text: Mardell Glinski Schultz © 2010, 2007 South-Western, Cengage Learning ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution, information storage and retrieval systems, or in any other manner—except as may be permitted by the license terms herein. For product information and technology assistance, contact us at Cengage Learning Customer & Sales Support, 1-800-354-9706 For permission to use material from this text or product, submit all requests online at www.cengage.com/permissions Further permissions questions can be emailed to permissionrequest@cengage.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2008939395 ISBN 13: 978-0-324-59360-0 ISBN 10: 0-324-59360-0 South-Western Cengage Learning 5191 Natorp Boulevard Mason, OH 45040...

Words: 219845 - Pages: 880