Shirley Jackson Literary Devices
Analysis of by Shirley Jackson "The Lottery"
Jackson’s visions about man and civilization are shown in her short story “The Lottery”. Numerous of her readers have found this story shocking and troubling. She creates a story filled with symbolisms, ugly reality, ridicule, and characters which reflect on the horror of the cruel tradition’s and that the townspeople are afraid of change. The three most important literary elements used to help form this story are plot, characterization, and theme.
The first important literary element that holds significant value to form this story is plot. Jackson story starts off by saying. It is a gorgeous summer day, the children are out of school, and the villagers are gathering in the square to get ready for …show more content…
At the beginning of the story the theme is hidden because the story makes it sound as if the town is getting ready for a great celebration. When first reading “The Lottery” it tells about the children gathering stones, slips of paper, and a black box in the middle of the town square. Usually in small town’s traditions are a big part of the community, and usually bring excitement. Which in this story is not the case, instead the town is getting ready to stone somebody to death. People often have a danger of following blindly when it comes to tradition, which Jackson describes very well throughout this story. These villagers kill someone random each year not because of something that they did wrong, but because they just happened to draw the wrong slip of paper. The villagers have blindly adapted to this ritual and have now made it a big celebration to stone somebody each year with no questions as to why they actually do it. “The Lottery” is a story that is reasonably relevant to our humanity today. Had these literary elements not been used throughout this story then it would be monotone. By using plot, characterization, and theme Jackson is able to show a powerful message. These elements help symbolizes the ridicule and ugly reality that we still live in this world today. Jackson portrays that people will still go with what tradition says, and not ask any questions about
Jackson’s visions about man and civilization are shown in her short story “The Lottery”. Numerous of her readers have found this story shocking and troubling. She creates a story filled with symbolisms, ugly reality, ridicule, and characters which reflect on the horror of the cruel tradition’s and that the townspeople are afraid of change. The three most important literary elements used to help form this story are plot, characterization, and theme.
The first important literary element that holds significant value to form this story is plot. Jackson story starts off by saying. It is a gorgeous summer day, the children are out of school, and the villagers are gathering in the square to get ready for …show more content…
At the beginning of the story the theme is hidden because the story makes it sound as if the town is getting ready for a great celebration. When first reading “The Lottery” it tells about the children gathering stones, slips of paper, and a black box in the middle of the town square. Usually in small town’s traditions are a big part of the community, and usually bring excitement. Which in this story is not the case, instead the town is getting ready to stone somebody to death. People often have a danger of following blindly when it comes to tradition, which Jackson describes very well throughout this story. These villagers kill someone random each year not because of something that they did wrong, but because they just happened to draw the wrong slip of paper. The villagers have blindly adapted to this ritual and have now made it a big celebration to stone somebody each year with no questions as to why they actually do it. “The Lottery” is a story that is reasonably relevant to our humanity today. Had these literary elements not been used throughout this story then it would be monotone. By using plot, characterization, and theme Jackson is able to show a powerful message. These elements help symbolizes the ridicule and ugly reality that we still live in this world today. Jackson portrays that people will still go with what tradition says, and not ask any questions about