“The Lottery (1948)” by Shirley Jackson‚ is a short story about an annual lottery taking place in a small New England town. Every year the lottery is held and the winner of the lottery is then promptly stoned to death. This lottery has been a long held tradition in this small town and it is a tradition that everyone in the town must take part in. The man in charge of the lottery drawing‚ Mr. Summers‚ calls each male head of household forward to an ominous looking black box sitting atop a three legged
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will participate in “the lottery.” Each member of that family will draw a piece of paper hoping is doesn’t contain a black dot. Whoever gets that specific piece of paper will be stoned to death by the whole town. This intense story comes to life in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery‚” written in 1948. This
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“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box‚ they still remembered to use stones.” (142) Rituals have been a part of human society since the first families huddled together. The intention of repeating the activity is to remind the group of members that something is important and vital to the fabric of their lives. This one sentence really exemplifies how society fails to learn and understand why they repeat a pattern of behavior. In the story‚ one generation
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There are a myriad of different possibilities for the theme of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson‚ but to me the story represents the concept of blame. As humans‚ we sometimes feel a need to target someone as the root of our problems‚ even if we know that they were in no way involved. This makes us feel better because we are able to take out our anger or stress on someone else. In some cases this person may be picked at random‚ such as Tessie was in the story. This can at times be unfair to the target
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it was forgotten‚ and just done for the sake of doing it. At first‚ The lottery was actually for religious purposes‚ and many events followed and preceded it. Then it turned into a hollow tradition nobody really cared about. “The Lottery”‚ by Shirley Jackson‚ turns to a less observed topic‚ and gives us a very good example of what many of us do today. When the lottery started‚ it was a tradition to make corn growth heavier. Old Warner confirms this when he talks about how there USED to be a saying
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What does the word ‘cardboard’ denote in the poem? Why has this word been used? In the poem‚ the word ‘cardboard’ stands for the frame that supports and borders the photograph. The photograph shows the poet’s mother as a twelve-year-old girl with two of her cousins‚ Betty and Dolly. The word ‘cardboard’ has been used to depict that the photograph is many years old. The use of cardboard as a photo frame was common in old times. What has the camera captured? The camera has captured a happy moment
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11/28/12 HIST485 Honor-Shame Code in The Tale of Heike In The Tale of Heike‚ the way in which the Japanese viewed defeat and dying is revealed to the reader through various incidents covered during the time of the novel. To be defeated was shameful but to prevail was a way to gain respect and honor. The accounts in Heike tell us that one could defeat an opponent by exiling him‚ insulting him‚ or even taking revenge upon him. Because being defeated was shameful‚ warriors would kill themselves
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In the novel‚ “Shirley‚” written by Charlotte Bronte‚ the author describes the milestone of turning eighteen. She describes the time before‚ during‚ and after turning eighteen‚ and the joys and evils that come with each point in time. She does this by using diction and comparisons throughout the excerpt to depict the changing of time and the change in age that is occurring. First‚ Bronte uses word choice to show a passing of time and to make clear the difference of life from when you are young
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Benjamin Lewis American Lit/AP Comp & Lit Heidkamp 2 December 2010 The Advantages of Public Shame in The Scarlet Letter Imagine a world in which everyone believes it is in their best interest to suppress their feelings. Most people in the modern world would undoubtedly find this prospect awful and depressing. After all‚ our phenomenon of instantaneous communication was conceived with the belief that humans desperately want and need to share their emotions and ideas. The widespread popularity
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SRA Answer Key Color Cards Blue and Lime Color Card Blue #1 Color Card Lime #1 Part A Part A 1. B 1. B 2. A 2. B 3. C 3. A 4. B 4. A 5. C 5. B Part B/C Part B/C 1. Fearsome 1. Furry 2. Trail 2. Dangerous 3. Hind 3. Grabbed 4. Stubborn 4. Noticed 5. Warned 5. Wired 6. Squatted 6. Dangerous 7. Whirl 7. Wired 8. Smashed
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