Amy Griffin’s Article - “Shirley Jackson’s THE LOTTERY” Critiqued Does a community exist for the sustenance of its custom and tradition or is it the other way around? The community in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” has lost proper perspective of the essence of their “lottery” traditional practice. They became captives of their own community’s tradition such that under its compulsion they engage in very self-destructive acts. They lay themselves and all they have family and all‚ on the line as
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The Unlucky Winner Usually‚ when one hears anything about a lottery‚ it is perceived as being a great fortune brought down upon whoever wins it‚ even if the person has done nothing to actually deserve it. After all‚ it is won only by a stroke of luck‚ an unforeseen and unexpected circumstance. But even so‚ it is supposed to bring wealth and luxury into the winner’s life. Not one person in today’s society would ever see the lottery as an unfortunate event that winning it would bring serious repercussions
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In “The Lottery”‚ insincerity and reluctance of village elders to abolish inhumane practice by hiding under the concept of tradition was on display. In addition‚ fear of prosecution or being labelled as tradition abolitionist also prevented the villagers from challenging this status quo. Similarly in “A Doll House”‚ men were trapped by traditional gender roles‚ and fought hard to maintain patriarch society at all cost. They prevent women from assuming male responsibilities even when they incapacitated
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family in the town‚ pick one paper. When the name picking begins‚ the villagers get nervous. We as readers here see that something is not right. A villager even mentions how there is a town close by that ended the lottery‚ but an old man quickly disagreed and said that nothing will ever change. He has been apart of the lottery for the past seventy-seven years and it is simply tradition. It should remain unquestioned and the villagers need to be loyal to the lottery. As they come to the part where they
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juxtaposed against evil brutality in villainous townspeople makes the story unusually disturbing and gripping. Typical WWII tales understandably reveal the German Nazis as the true criminals and mass murderers of the time but in the story we see Polish villagers playing
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people in the village are obedient to the past law and are unwilling to see the whole thing for what it is‚ senseless killing. Jackson’s third person view is crucial to the plot of the story because it allows the illumination of the fact that the villagers‚ led by Mr. Summers who had assumed the civic duty of conducting the lottery‚ are carrying on with a tradition of the lottery because “there’s always been a lottery” (239). When I first began reading the story I had no idea what Jackson was leading
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Jackson’s use of a benevolent tone leaves readers unsuspecting of the ironic ending. As the story begins‚ the setting is described as “clear‚” “warm‚” and “sunny.” This entrance immediately creates the relaxing imagery of a beautiful day. As the villagers gather‚ the children began to “play.” Their playfulness show they have no inhibitions or worries. The Lottery is organized like the “square dances‚” “teen club‚” and “the Halloween program” as one of the “civic activities.” The Lottery is presented
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“Wise Old Woman” By Yoshiko Uchida Characters: * Young lord (of village) * Grandmother * Young villager * Lord Higa * Wise Old Men Setting: * The setting is In the Mountain and in the Village in the western hill of Japan Conflict: * Elders being exiled to the mountains to die at the age of 71 * Mother of young villager needs to make a decision about his mother * Lord Higa threatens the village * Many long years ago‚ there was a cruel ruler
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First‚ Cristina rips up the money Mario sent from Canada for no reason other than her pride. Alfredo‚ Mario’s friend‚ makes a comment to Cristina about her affair and how Mario will react. This comment reminds her of how the villagers believe that she is only with Mario for the money. This causes Cristina to rip up the money‚ which she could have otherwise used for Vitto. The money is originally for her son to purchase new clothes for the winter months. Now‚ because of Cristina’s
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Moreover‚ the rain clouds symbolize the villagers of Golema Mmidi getting together once they realize through Makhaya and Gilbert that by co-operating they can achieve much more then they could individually. They join forces against Matenge because they have more influence in bigger numbers. The reader is told that “the rain clouds always gathered in September”‚ except for now. This signifies the breaking of tribalism and the tradition that has kept the villagers underdeveloped and poor for so long.
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