Sherley Jackson The Lottery Analysis

In today’s blog, I’d like to talk about some of my personal impressions about something that really shocked me at the beginning of the story, after reading the Lottery written by American famous female author Sherley Jackson. In the story, she depicts a small village in the mountain and the annual antiquated ritual there; every year, people are gathered at the square, and pick the lottery. It is a ritual for praying; it is not a ritual for praying. From the different word choices and settings Jackson used in the story, I can discover its astonish but approachable plots and ending, and reveal the façade of prolonging ritual.

At the beginning of her novel, she depicts the morning of June 27th as a clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day. It’s the time that farmers gradually sow their crops, and wait for them maturing. ‘Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.’ Boys are gathered and pick pebbles, piling them in a corner; it’s an unusual action for boys to do so before an assembly, instead of playing. From there, I feel a kind of special formal ambience in the square. ‘Soon the men began to gather, · · · They stood together, away from the
The lottery is not a lottery for wealth, but death. It’s a sacrifice for harvest; instead of using livestock, it uses human’s life. Though some villagers want to change that with the precedents in villages nearby, the ritual in the village would definitely continue, and it’s impossible to be canceled, because of Warner, who holds the mind of keeping the ritual, as a conservationist. The only way to change that is everyone play a role in eliminating the intervention of any opponent, and endeavor their best ability to alter the regulations in the