The Unknown Citizen And The Lottery
Erick Macedo
Mrs. O’Kane
English III (4)
October 21, 2013
Irony and Symbolism Combined Poetry and short stories are a different type of literature yet they share similar elements that are portrayed in both. Most commonly they are setting, conflict, theme and tone. The Unknown Citizen, written by W.H Auden, is a poem that will be compared with the lottery, written by Shirley Jackson. Both, the short story and poem, share 2 literature devices in common. They exhibit Irony and symbolism within them. The usage of both will be compared to acknowledge the similarities between the two different literature styles. Although they may not fall into the same genre, both the Unknown Citizen and The Lottery share common literature devices to provide …show more content…
The irony here is that of the praising of a common man that is nothing out of the ordinary yet shows a constant overlook by the government. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is full of irony. The most common used is probably situational irony in which the author took something that is often associated with rewards and she turned it into the exact opposite giving it a kick to her story. Both authors seemed to want to get through a message to the reader in order to illuminate their usage. In the Unknown citizen W.H Auden seems to try and bring forth the concept of a tyrant government in which it overlooks and controls everything we do. That is why they praise this unknown citizen, because he caused no problems and lived a casual life but is never presented as happy. In the lottery, the irony is used to highlight the fact that not everything is what is seems, not everything can have rewards. As it is proven in the story with Tessie’s downfall at the hand of her friends and neighbors that the lottery was not a happy tradition in the …show more content…
In the unknown citizen the name itself is only presented once, making it clear that the whole poem will be based upon that simple phrase of “unknown citizen” which is associated with that of the Unknown Soldier used in heroic references. In the lottery there are multiple variations of symbols but one that sticks out the most is the lottery itself. It represents any behavior or idea passed down as tradition, tradition in which it is not question and accepted the way it is with minor
Mrs. O’Kane
English III (4)
October 21, 2013
Irony and Symbolism Combined Poetry and short stories are a different type of literature yet they share similar elements that are portrayed in both. Most commonly they are setting, conflict, theme and tone. The Unknown Citizen, written by W.H Auden, is a poem that will be compared with the lottery, written by Shirley Jackson. Both, the short story and poem, share 2 literature devices in common. They exhibit Irony and symbolism within them. The usage of both will be compared to acknowledge the similarities between the two different literature styles. Although they may not fall into the same genre, both the Unknown Citizen and The Lottery share common literature devices to provide …show more content…
The irony here is that of the praising of a common man that is nothing out of the ordinary yet shows a constant overlook by the government. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is full of irony. The most common used is probably situational irony in which the author took something that is often associated with rewards and she turned it into the exact opposite giving it a kick to her story. Both authors seemed to want to get through a message to the reader in order to illuminate their usage. In the Unknown citizen W.H Auden seems to try and bring forth the concept of a tyrant government in which it overlooks and controls everything we do. That is why they praise this unknown citizen, because he caused no problems and lived a casual life but is never presented as happy. In the lottery, the irony is used to highlight the fact that not everything is what is seems, not everything can have rewards. As it is proven in the story with Tessie’s downfall at the hand of her friends and neighbors that the lottery was not a happy tradition in the …show more content…
In the unknown citizen the name itself is only presented once, making it clear that the whole poem will be based upon that simple phrase of “unknown citizen” which is associated with that of the Unknown Soldier used in heroic references. In the lottery there are multiple variations of symbols but one that sticks out the most is the lottery itself. It represents any behavior or idea passed down as tradition, tradition in which it is not question and accepted the way it is with minor