One Day Of The Lottery Essay

Improved Essays
Once a year everyone in town gather in town square for the annual lottery. As the people begin to approach the old black damaged box on the stool located in the middle of town their hearts begin to grow heavy. Many people would think of the lottery as something that you would enjoy but that’s not the case in this situation. Imagine walking towards a black box knowing that just a tiny slip of paper could determine the life of one human being. Who knew that one small slip of paper could cause someone to lose their life? In the box there are several blank slips of paper that every individual has to choose one sheet but there is only one slip that in the box that contains a black dot and whoever gets that sheet will be stoned to death and there is no way out of it. No one was exempt in this case not even children. Being the men in charge of this event both Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves prepared the box by placing the sheets of paper in the black box the night before so that it could be ready for the lottery the next morning. The day of the lottery everyone gathered in town to prepare for this horrible day, the children gathered the stones that will be used to stone the person who picks the slip with the black dot to death. Hearts are pounding as the townspeople begin to realize that anyone could be a victim of this horrible lottery. Approaching the damaged box many people feared losing their lives knowing …show more content…
He symbolizes tradition because he likes for things to remain the way they have always been and does not see a need for them to be any different. He follows the tradition of his ancestors and expects for the generations to come to do the same to keep this chain

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In most cases, people earn money from a lottery, except for the characters in the short story “The Lottery”. In this tale, the villagers in a small community are participating in their annual lottery. However, it turns out that the winners may win a lot less than they hoped for. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author uses symbolism to foretell what would happen later on in the story.…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To begin with, the old, shabby black box represents how a small country village is unwilling to give up a tradition they have held on to for more than 70 years. The village people are excited about, June 27th, and the day of the lottery. The old shabby black box has faded in some places showing wood colors. Mr. Summers, the owner of the local coal company, has struggled with the process over the years and many things have changed. The changes are: no yelling, no pledging to the American flag, and no reporting on who was murdered the previous year.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Box Owns Life Potential danger is critical to the building of suspense in “The Lottery”. Before the lottery, the villagers seem nervous of the black box and the lottery in general, which bestows their fear of the consequences of the lottery. When the black box and stool is brought out, “The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, [and] there was a hesitation before two men [...] came forward to hold the box steady on the stool…” (Jackson 1). Even before the lottery occurs, two men are afraid of touching the lottery box and stool.…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is discovered that the Hutchinson family is the one who draws the paper, following this, every member in the family has to draw once again, and this time the mother, Tessie is the one who draws the paper with the marking. Immediately after she begins to beg for a redrawing claiming that it was done unfairly, the reader still doesn’t know what exactly the lottery is, but judging by the reaction of Tessie it is safe to say that this is not something to be joyous about. After the lottery has ended the villagers all take up stones and start to stone the unlucky victim of the lottery ceremony. Throughout her short story The Lottery, Shirley Jackson uses different allegories to display how religions can brainwash people. She llustrates how often people overlook their morals and awful or illogical deeds because of their ritualistic habits and within the story she uses historical context to do portray this…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The black box contains the slip of paper that sentences the person to death, and the stones are what is used to kill the person, or stone them to death. This is proof because both show examples of death, and death is the key theme in “ The Lottery”. On Page 6, “Mr.Graves had selected the five slips and put them in the box.”. The black box contains the slip of paper that sentences the person to death, and the stones are what is used to kill the person, or stone them to death.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in the month of June in 1948. The story is about an annual tradition, called the lottery, held in an anonymous small village. All of the villagers gather for the annual event and Mr. Summers conducts a quick roll call. Each one of the residents of the village draws a piece of paper from the black box. As this happens, the villagers start to talk with one another how some nearby villages have stopped following the tradition of the lottery.…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a story about an annual lottery taking place in a small town in New England. Every year the lottery is held, where the winner of the random lottery is then stoned to death. This lottery has been a long held tradition in this small town and it is a tradition that everyone must take part in. The man in charge of the lottery drawing, Mr. Summers, call each head of household forward to a black box, where they must select a small piece of paper. After the men have chosen, they are allowed to open the paper and see who is selected.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The villagers accept this solution in a trance-like state because it has always been done that way. The ritual has lost its significance, and the purpose has long been forgotten.” (Shields 7) Although The Lottery was a horrific tradition no one wanted to speak up to try to end it, because they were scared of what the outcome might be. The symbols help the reader interpret the short story by understanding the significance of the symbols. The black box determined life or death and the stones symbolizes power and…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Characters in the chosen short story The Lottery the town event every year is hated by most of the town. Why would you want this tradition in your town? It is basically a way to murder someone without being hauled to jail. The black box is representing your future in this tradition. You pick little slips of paper out of it.…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson, and published in 1949. Just a couple of years after World War II, where many people was scared with lost loved ones due to the war. Many believed that the story should not have been published because of it gruesome ending and “psychological shock.” In the Journal Article “ ‘The Lottery’: Symbolic Tour de Force,” Helen E. Nebeker looks in depth into the story “The Lottery” pointing out the themes and symbolisms heavy meaning of the story.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shirley Jackson is the author of the short story called “The Lottery.” When reading this story, the reader could possibly believe that they are able to foresee the ending. “The Lottery” takes place in a small town, with a population of about three hundred people, on June 27 at ten in the morning. Jackson provides the reader with visuals that range from the town gathering and getting ready for the lottery to the town kids playing outside and collecting rocks. The importance of this lottery is that is not what it comes off to be, instead it is an act of sacrifice that is believed to be important in order to keep society stable.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” depicts a village tradition which ends with one of the villagers being chased down and stoned by her friends, family, and neighbors. Such an outrageous and violent ritual must have strong reasoning behind it; however, none of the villagers really know why they do it. The lottery is a tradition that has been going on for years and is generally accepted. Shirley Jackson uses generational conflict in “The Lottery” to show that following tradition can cause motivation to be blinded.6 The loss of traditions over the years demonstrates how following tradition can lead to blinded motivation. The ritual once involved many traditions including, “a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery” (Jackson…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Within the lottery lies another layer of symbolism- the black box used to conduct the ritual. Jackson goes into great description of the box and how the people go to great lengths to preserve but also avoid it and even blantly states the symbolism the box has in relation to the ritual, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box,” (290). The multiple layers of symbolism behind this corrupted ceremony all point towards the fear of the townsfolk and the danger behind the…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For seventy years, this lottery has been held in the town square. Shirley Jackson uses setting, symbolism, and characterization to help the reader understand her short story, “The Lottery.” On the day of the lottery, the sky was clear and sunny. It is a warm summer day with flowers blossoming everywhere. The folks in the village gather together in the…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The day I won the Lottery The day I won the lottery was where It all started. I was off to the shops to check my lotto ticket to see if I had won anything. When I got there I went to check but the blue lottery machine was loading very slowly. It felt like forever but then suddenly It said that I had won $100,000,000 and 50¢. It was amazing instantly I could go around the world 3 times and buy a massive mansion by the river.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays