“The Lottery” Essay
When people hear the word lottery, they think of receiving a prize. Lotteries are based on chance, and it could be used for a special school program, a prize, or of course, money. This is not the case in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. A small town conducts a lottery every year in the summertime to sacrifice a member of the community for the well being and prosperity of the town. This tradition completely disgraces its title. In the story, Jackson uses matter-of-fact details about the setting, the townspeople, and the traditions associated with the yearly lottery to initially mask but then emphasize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, it is, in reality, inherently barbaric. The author masks her theme of a barbaric society through the town in which the lottery takes place as a small, closely-knit community. …show more content…
Jackson uses the different personalities and various actions of the townspeople to mask the initial reason for having the lottery in their community, and she also uses the lottery’s traditions to do the same. The traditions of the lottery are not typically regarded as civil, which their society claims to be. On page 25, the author gives the impression that the children are simply playing with the stones and conceals the intentions of the tradition: “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example.” Jackson hides the intended use of the stones behind the young boys who begin to gather the stones, making the tradition seem like a game, rather than a cruel sacrifice to conceal her theme. Furthermore, the author continues to conceal her theme through an old saying “’about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns.’” This saying from Old Man Warner represents the barbarisms in the true purpose of the lottery. In conclusion, if it were truly a lottery, why wouldn’t
When people hear the word lottery, they think of receiving a prize. Lotteries are based on chance, and it could be used for a special school program, a prize, or of course, money. This is not the case in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. A small town conducts a lottery every year in the summertime to sacrifice a member of the community for the well being and prosperity of the town. This tradition completely disgraces its title. In the story, Jackson uses matter-of-fact details about the setting, the townspeople, and the traditions associated with the yearly lottery to initially mask but then emphasize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, it is, in reality, inherently barbaric. The author masks her theme of a barbaric society through the town in which the lottery takes place as a small, closely-knit community. …show more content…
Jackson uses the different personalities and various actions of the townspeople to mask the initial reason for having the lottery in their community, and she also uses the lottery’s traditions to do the same. The traditions of the lottery are not typically regarded as civil, which their society claims to be. On page 25, the author gives the impression that the children are simply playing with the stones and conceals the intentions of the tradition: “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example.” Jackson hides the intended use of the stones behind the young boys who begin to gather the stones, making the tradition seem like a game, rather than a cruel sacrifice to conceal her theme. Furthermore, the author continues to conceal her theme through an old saying “’about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns.’” This saying from Old Man Warner represents the barbarisms in the true purpose of the lottery. In conclusion, if it were truly a lottery, why wouldn’t