The Aspects Of Time In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
In the short story “The Lottery,” the author, Shirley Jackson uses aspects of time during the year and location to mislead the reader to improve the plot of the story. The story takes place in a small town that has a unique set of traditions. For each year, to have a successful harvest, one person from the town is drawn at random to be stoned and killed. The author begins this short story by giving the reader a happy warm sense with a bright time of year. “Full-summer day.” (Jackson 1) Generally, people can relate with a nice summers day, to go with that, the reader expects a warm story to go along with the setting. “Flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” The time of summer is the perfect setting to shock the reader
about the true meaning behind the story. The act of brutally murdering someone by stoning them amplifies how brutal and archaic this tradition is. To go along with the bright summer setting, the story also takes place in a “[small] village.” (Jackson 1) A village in which there are only about “300 people,” (Jackson 1) so everyone has familiarity with each other. With such a small close-knit village like this, it makes the act of murder even worse. It can impose a realization with the reader that this would be like killing someone you know. These thoughts give the reader an open connection to the story, and amplify the plot of the story by doing so. With the story taking place in a small homely type village during a warm and bright time of year; the moral behind the story becomes more outlandish to the reader. With that, the aspects of time during the year and location are used to deceive the reader which improves the plot of the story.
about the true meaning behind the story. The act of brutally murdering someone by stoning them amplifies how brutal and archaic this tradition is. To go along with the bright summer setting, the story also takes place in a “[small] village.” (Jackson 1) A village in which there are only about “300 people,” (Jackson 1) so everyone has familiarity with each other. With such a small close-knit village like this, it makes the act of murder even worse. It can impose a realization with the reader that this would be like killing someone you know. These thoughts give the reader an open connection to the story, and amplify the plot of the story by doing so. With the story taking place in a small homely type village during a warm and bright time of year; the moral behind the story becomes more outlandish to the reader. With that, the aspects of time during the year and location are used to deceive the reader which improves the plot of the story.