story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. In this story‚ an illustration draws out the brutal and villinious stoning of an unlucky woman. At first glance‚ I believe this strongly clashes with our contemporary values. A much deeper evaluation of the portrayal of swinging mindsets and how humans have the capacity to coincide with a mob mentality. As civilized and noble human beings‚ it’s important to dissect and criticize the traditional values in the society described in the story "The Lottery" and others
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“The Lottery” is a dynamic short story with several motifs and ideas such as the power behind tradition and family. However‚ more importantly‚ it has a strong over arching theme that captures the dynamic nature of the short story: outer appearances can be deceiving. This reoccurring theme is illustrated by the idea of the lottery‚ and the nature of humanity as depicted in the story: weak and evil. The theme‚ outer appearances can be deceiving‚ is depicted by the short story’s concept of a lottery
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The Lottery The story takes place in a small village‚ where the people are close and tradition is paramount. A yearly event‚ called the lottery‚ is one in which one person in the town is randomly chosen‚ by a drawing‚ to be violently stoned by friends and family. The drawing has been around over seventy-seven years and is practiced by every member of the town. Shirley is very natural to the characters and the event. We don’t get any information about what she thinks about the situation‚ and she
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English 101 The Lottery In life‚ we as people are hesitant about change. We often think “this is the way it has always been”‚ or “why change now” But‚ is this always a good attitude to have? The Lottery‚ written by Shirley Jackson in 1948‚ shows how reluctant townspeople are to reject outdated traditions and ideas even though they are considered evil and unnecessary by others. While gathering in the town square for the annual summer lottery‚ conversations began amongst the people about other
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The Lottery Conformity or Pure Selfishness “The opposite for courage is not cowardice‚ it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow”-Jim Hightower. Have you ever been in a situation to where you know a person or a group is doing something wrong‚ but you choose not to do anything about it? Have you ever done something wrong for so long that it suddenly became a lifestyle for you? Jackson’s story‚ “The Lottery”‚ when it comes to being in the wrong or not speaking up‚ reminds me
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The Lottery The Lottery is a short southern gothic story written in the late 1940s by Shirley Jackson. It is about a small town of around 300 normal everyday people‚ who because of tradition have to draw every year out of a black box for somebody to be stoned to death. In this short southern gothic story Jackson uses imagery of an everyday normal town to show the potential in ordinary people to do evil things‚ and also foreshadows the fatal ending. They story starts out “The morning of June
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The lottery‚ many people are playing it all around the world. In the United States‚ people‚ who have a little bit of money in their pocket‚ will play the lottery. Now the lottery has changed from a tool for financing the public to a tool for making money for the merchant. In the article “ The Lottery is for Losers ” by Laurence Berkley‚ the author points out‚ people forgot the main point for lottery is financing the public‚ but now they only see the impossible benefit for their self. There are three
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story is when Mr. Summers brought the black box in‚ everybody distance themselves from the stool‚ and even as he seeks help‚ “Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?” (416). There was still hesitation because of fear of unknown. Also when the lottery started and the first man “Adams” was called to pick a folded paper‚ as he passes by and greet Mr. Summers‚ “They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously” (418). As he went back‚ he did hastily showing nervousness. Another foreshadow
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In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson one begins to suspect something is “wrong” on page 516 when the townspeople begin to draw their slips. The tension in the air between the characters at this moment becomes much more clear and palpable. This part of the story makes the reader question what is really going on. The mood of the people changes from merriness to agitation‚ which makes the reader also ponder about the strange proceedings of this event. When the citizens were being called
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The story‚ "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is about tradition. A word usually tied to happy events like anniversaries‚ family vacations‚ and holidays‚ Jackson presents the concept in a much more sinister light. While there are hints of what is to come‚ the events portrayed are similar to what one would expect to find in a small village’s long standing custom. The first‚ misleading bit of evidence lies in the very first paragraph. The day is described as "clear and sunny"‚ with "flowers
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