In “The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson‚ Ms. Strangeworth stops her town from becoming evil by writing anonymous letters. The overall theme of the story is everything is not what it seems. Jackson utilizes the story to show how a person may not seem like the person you thought they were. Ms. Strangeworth appears to be a sweet old lady‚ but is she really? Throughout the story her true colors begin to reveal. Jackson develops this central idea through the use of irony. Through all three types
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Shirley Jackson’s major fascination was dark fiction. In most of her stories‚ her main topics are about hosts‚ witches and mysterious situations in which the characters have to get through. She wrote novels‚ short stories‚ and children’s books without living her fiction style out. "Life Among the Savages" (1953)‚ "Raising Demons"(1957)‚ a non-fiction prose "Witchcraft in Salem Village"(1956)‚ "Road Through the Wall" (1948)‚ "Hangsaman"(1951)‚ and "The Bird`s Nest" (1954)‚ are only a few works that
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teenagers in our generation are very confident and happy‚ especially because we believe that they don’t have anything to worry about. For Zits things are very different‚ due to the fact that shame is a painful feeling that plays a big role in his life. Zits says “I’m dying from about ninety-nine kinds of shame. I’m ashamed of being fifteen years old. And being tall. And skinny. And ugly. I’m ashamed that I look like a bag of zits tied to a broomstick” (4). In a point of his life‚ Zits became so ashamed
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ensure a fruitful corn harvest. If there is any real reason meant to be conveyed by the story for the stoning‚ I believe it is no doubt the casual cruelty of human beings and how they can blindly follow certain traditions without questioning them. Shirley Jackson does a brilliant job of deceiving her audience into believing that the lottery will be something fun; after all‚ everyone is
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The short story by Shirley Jackson “The Lottery” serves as a mirror to see our own society and rituals at an extreme. Throughout the story the author normalizes the characters’ inhumane ritual so the reader would be able to understand the underlining meaning of the story. In our society there are rituals that we do not dare to question because they have been embedded into our lives. The character Old Man Warner justifies such rituals by saying‚ on page 142‚ “There’s always been a lottery.” he himself
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1904: Lincoln Steffens‚ The Shame of the Cities U.S. History Resources 1904 Lincoln Steffens‚ The Shame of the Cities Perhaps the most influential of the muckrakers was Lincoln Steffens. Steffens’s articles were published in McClure’s magazine in 1902 and 1903 and then collected in The Shame of the Cities. The following excerpt is taken from the introduction to the 1904 volume. Now‚ the typical American citizen is the business man. The typical businessman is a bad citizen; he is busy
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Pebbles Franks Handelman English 1101 24 June 2013 Shame to Fame: Teenage Pregnancy The Pregnancy Trap by Gerry Garibaldi creates the idea that society has become more accepting of teenage pregnancy (634-38). When Garibaldi learns all of his favorite girls are pregnant‚ he asks some of them‚ “Do you think getting pregnant when you’re a teenager is a good thing or a bad thing
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Corresponding Chronicles Sheryl Gounder The art of storytelling has been around for many generations. “The Witch” by Shirley Jackson and “The Storyteller” by Saki share the common act of storytelling. The stories reflect each other’s main concept of telling a story within a story. Both authors provide imagery and detail within the ambience and characters. The stories share similar surroundings. “The Storyteller” and “The Witch” begin in a railway carriage. As both stories advance so do the
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traditions have been a common idea throughout every civilization since the beginning of thought. All of these religions have had some sort of doctrine of faith or standardized set of codes and practices that have been passed down through the ages. In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery‚" The author presents the idea that without questioning the practices of our rituals‚ we lose the meaning of why they were conceived in the first place. The first clue that religion and doctrine may be the main subject
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routine‚ unbeknownst of the devotion to come. Driven by the urge to please and feel closer to their elders‚ these traditions continue. But if there is no clear purpose‚ it is more difficult to keep the value known and respected. This is shown in Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’. The story is set in a dystopian land‚ where villages participate in lotteries. However‚ instead of money‚ the winner is made the target of a stoning‚ performed by their peers.Throughout the story‚ she uses elaborate description
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