we do what we’re told‚ but never questioning why we do things could lead to disastrous events. In The Lottery Shirley Jackson warns us about the dangers of blindly following tradition. Jackson’s use of foreshadowing‚ symbolism‚ and irony admonish the public of what could go wrong if we never question tradition. The story starts off with the town gathering around for the annual lottery. The men talk‚ the women gossip and children run around playing and gathering rocks. The gathering of
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David Budnick Mrs. Sarnoski English 12 Honors 14 December 2012 “The Lottery” Through the Eyes of a Marxist/Feminist Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is about a town in which a little black box controls whether or not a person may live or be killed. The lack of dominant female characters illustrates the assumption that women are often seen as inferior to men. Interesting developments of the plot and theme make it obvious to the reader how women are portrayed in the story. This short story shows
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following the crowd can have dangerous consequences. For example‚ look at the fictional world of a short story: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. In its small town‚ the locals hold a lottery every year. A slip of paper for every person in town is stored inside an ancient black box; the official of the lottery‚ Mr. Summers‚ summons everyone to pull out a slip of paper. The lottery may seem quaint‚
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Setting in “The Lottery” The setting in a story helps to form the story and it makes the characters become more interesting. There are three main types of setting. The first is nature and the outdoors‚ second is objects of human manufacture and construction and the third is cultural conditions and assumptions. These three things help the reader to understand the characters better in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. “The Lottery” is started out by
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Irony in “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” offers an almost classic study of irony of situation: the reader expects a celebration; she gets a stoning. Such a reversal is the work of careful planning by the author. The reader expects the lottery to be a celebration of some sort because Jackson describes the setting‚ details the activities of the townspeople‚ and refers to the lottery itself in terms that belie the outcome of the event. First‚ Jackson establishes a setting which suggests
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In "The Lottery‚" Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to make us aware of the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. The story starts off on a beautiful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very euphoric but strikes a contrast between the atmosphere of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is subdued‚ where the children are "gathered around quietly."<br>The black box is the central theme or idea in the story. It
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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story about a small town that gathered and did their usual lottery that happens during the 27th of June. This lottery is being headed by the “Big three” namely Mr. Summers‚ Mr. Graves & Mr. Martin. The story describes what happens during the tradition of the town wherein they eliminate the worst worker in their town every year. The story has many themes; one of these themes is sexism. Sexism is defined as the discrimination based on gender especially discrimination
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Foreshadowing in The Lottery In the short story The Lottery‚ (reprinted in Perrine’s Literature: Structure‚ Sound‚ and Sense‚ 7th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt‚ 1998] 421) Shirley Jackson depicts a special day‚ June 27‚ in the lives of the inhabitants of a small‚ apparently serene village. The use of foreshadowing is applied extensively to hint to the reader that despite the seemingly festive occasion‚ there is something morbid about the lottery that causes the people of the town to be uneasy. Jackson foreshadows
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“The Lottery” Rough Draft Brian J. Woodvine CM 107-027W1 English Composition 1 Professor Sue Klemm “WYSINWYG” The Father‚ The Son‚ and The Holy Ghost! Let me reiterate that for you! The Father‚ The Son‚ and The Holy Ghost! How many innocent people have been killed in one God’s name or another? The three legged stool sits behind; both a praise and a nemesis. The intention of this paper is to explain the difference between the two‚ and decide if the author was using symbolism to relate
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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson focuses on the annual ritual killing of one person and the characters’ behavior during this event. From the standpoint of modern civilized society‚ the killing is simply evil‚ and therefore this mindset may be projected onto the characters. However‚ the lottery is not seen by the townspeople as a necessary evil merely because it is part of the ritual. The ritual itself could not justify such violence if most people opposed it. Violence is inherent in human nature
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