“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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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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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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The indirect interior monologue we get next is essential. There is something seriously affecting Henry— his faith is being tested— and what he once found comforting is now not. He is worried and this worry is mentioned twice in one paragraph. Henry also admits his sadness. Now compare this segment to the exchange between him and his wife. He does not tell her of this sadness‚ his worry or his confusion. He clearly thinks about her own lack of faith‚ but does not ask her about that either. Instead
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The solidity of the people was shocking. The Lottery was simply something that needed doing‚ a line to check off of the honey-do list. Murder‚ gruesome murder‚ became normal to these people‚ it went unnoticed. This is what made it was horrific‚ and Shirley Jackson knew exactly what she was doing‚ and did an admirable job of
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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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small towns have their own special tradition. Nokomis‚ Illinois has a Homecoming carnival the second weekend in July every year‚ Witt has Labor Day‚ and Hillsboro has Old Settlers. These events bring the community together in celebration. However‚ in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery on July 27th the community does not gather for a celebration; instead they gather nervously awaiting the yearly tradition of “The Lottery”. In this village members of the community draw slips of paper from an old worn wooden
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I have chosen the story called “The lottery” for my summative task. This finest story of Shirley Jackson was written in the month of its first publication‚ in the June 26‚ 1948‚ issue of The New Yorker. Shirley Jackson was an American author and popular writer in her time. She is best known for her mesmerizing short stories. When she was a student she became involved in literary magazine through which she met her future husband Stanley Hyman. She is best known for the short story called “the lottery”
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