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 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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Irony: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning (Merriam Webster Dictionary) Of the four soldiers wandering behind enemy lines after the Battle of the Bulge‚ Billy Pilgrim is the least soldierly and least likely to survive. He’s the only one who survives. He also survives the incineration of Dresden‚ not bad for an unfit prisoner of war. He is also the lone survivor of an airplane crash. Edgar Derby is tried and executed for plundering
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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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Authors of short stories use elements of style to make their stories interesting. There are many elements of style used by authors. Irony and theme are often used in short stories. This is clearly shown in O. Henry’s short stories such as: “The Gift of the Magi‚” “The Lickpenny Lover‚” “The Midsummer Knights Dream‚” “The Cop and the Anthem‚” and “Ships.” The short stories of O. Henry use the element of theme to bring about ironic endings. In “The Gift of the Magi” there are elements of theme throughout
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it’s possible to find a compromise between the two parties‚ but he’s scared to take any sort of risks against the Republican Party. The cartoonist’s ideology is probable a Democrat who is let down by how poorly Obama has done. The cartoon uses the IRONY that Obama is supposed to be a powerful man that stands up to anything as the president of the country‚ but he is instead scared to make the Republican Party angry and continues to compromise. PARODY is also used‚ a composition that imitates the serious
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“Satire is a sort of glass‚ wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own” (Swift). Jonathan Swift‚ a satirical writer during the eighteenth century‚ made an excellent metaphor revealing that satire is written in such a way that the author exposes only what they want the reader to know. This same metaphor reigns true even today in modern satirical writing within the structure‚ tone‚ and what the writings are used for; dependent upon the point of view‚ I personally choose
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1. Were you surprised by the ending of the story? If not‚ at what point did you know what was going to happen? How does Jackson foreshadow the ending? Conversely‚ how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town? 1. I. Was not really surprised by the ending to this story. I never really knew what was going to happen but I had a feeling that something bad was about to when Jackson wrote about the stones being gathered in huge piles. I also feel he
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of this speech. There are three main types of satire‚ gentle‚ barbed and savage. Gentle satire also known as horatian laughs along with the subject. It uses wit‚ exaggeration and self-deprecating humour and often critiques social vice through light hearted humour. Some well-known examples that use gentle satire are often parodies of songs‚ movies or shows. Barbed satire laughs at the weak like political cartoons. The last main type of satire is savage‚ which is cruel and aims to destroy someone
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Conversely‚ how does Jackson lull us into thinking that this is just an ordinary story with an ordinary town? A: I was quite shocked by the ending of the story‚ mainly because I did not know exactly what the people of the village were competing in the lottery for. I was not sure if the win was for money‚ better jobs in the neibourhood‚ higher status. Never did it cross my mind that they would be drawing slips to see who would get stoned to death. I started to suspect that the “win” was not for a good prize
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