The Ritual of “The Lottery” It is often said that there is strength in numbers. While it is true that a large group of people has more power than an individual‚ a single person within a large group will almost always conform in some way. This weakens the individual and leads to fewer new ideas in order to maintain group status and agreement. Many times‚ rituals or ideas are allowed and accepted just because they are favored by a majority or have been part of that society for so long that they
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story “The Lottery”‚ is famous because it is an unexpected macabre ironic story written by Shirley Jackson‚ who suffered from mental and physical illness. The lottery is famous activity of the town. Like a normal lottery‚ the community gets together and participate once a year. Although it sounds nice‚ the winner of that lottery is murdered. With the use of irony‚ Jackson gives a fine and happy story‚ a horrific twisted end. Irony begins before we begin to read‚ because we associate lottery with something
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Jane Smith Mr. Houston ENG 2350 Introduction to Literature April 25‚ 2015 Keyword: Foreshadowing [Be sure to use boldfaced type for the keyword and synonyms.] Foreshadowing in “The Lottery” (p. 133) PART ONE: ANALYSIS Humans can make interpretations. We don’t have to take everything literally; we can see below the surface of events‚ and we can “read between the lines.” Symbolism is one important tool authors use for conveying meaning “below the surface.” By being able to “read” symbols
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Analysis of by Shirley Jackson "The Lottery" Jackson’s visions about man and civilization are shown in her short story “The Lottery”. Numerous of her readers have found this story shocking and troubling. She creates a story filled with symbolisms‚ ugly reality‚ ridicule‚ and characters which reflect on the horror of the cruel tradition’s and that the townspeople are afraid of change. The three most important literary elements used to help form this story are plot‚ characterization‚ and theme. The
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“The Lottery” is a short story written by a woman named Shirley Jackson. The story takes place on the 27th of June in a small nameless town. The lottery is a tradition in this small town and has taken place longer than any of the townspeople can remember. In fact none even remember why there is a lottery‚ but take part in it because there has always been one. Part of this tradition is an old black box. Of course it is not the original box but some in the story say that it was
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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 after another neglected to take care of the “paraphernalia” (138)‚ of the lottery and as the years passed “the ritual had been allowed to lapse.”(138) It also appears that over time the reasoning behind the annual gathering of the villagers was
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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that depicts the blind following of tradition. Just because something has been done a certain way for as long as you can remember‚ does not mean that way is the best way. “The Lottery” also highlights the cruelty of human nature. The willingness of ritualistic murder of colleagues‚ friends or family. The tradition to stone someone in your community to death annually is truly cruel. It blows my mind how so many people can knowingly partake in the action
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Warren Averett University 30 March 2014 Professor Buksar‚ MA It is very easy to understand why Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” caused controversy at the time it was first published in 1948; which was shortly after World War II. The story may have been seen as an attempt to look at traditions that have become questionable. In “The Lottery” Jackson attempts to compare real world traditions that are no longer relevant‚ with those of the story by displaying what happens when traditions
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THE LOTTERY A short fictional story published by Shirley Jackson The Lottery was originally published in the magazine The New Yorker in 1948. On one clear sunny morning in a village of 300 it was the day of June 27‚ The Lottery Day. It was held at the town square by the post office and the bank. This village was a farming village. The time they held this was anytime they wanted. On this special day people gather around the town square and the kids collect rocks. During this day Graves and Summers
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done so why change it now? This is the way many people think and don’t see a problem with it. They go along with the status quo whether it is right or wrong. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson the townspeople are hesitant to refuse traditions that would be considered wrong and evil by most people. This story gives the lottery a bad reputation. The first thing that comes to mind is winning a sum of money or goods. In the beginning‚ the story suggests that the people are going to draw for a
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