Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story with a surprising and ironic ending. Instead of getting a reward after the drawing, the person actually dies from getting stoned. Jackson had a greater purpose with this story other than its astonishing ending. Through the story Jackson reveals her world view of conformity. Often the world has way too much of it, especially during the year 1948 when the story was published. Jackson uses the problems associated with conformity in the world around her, and puts it all into one story. She adds vivid detail with a pleasant setting so that the ending is completely unforeseen. She catches the reader’s attention and then through the plot of the story reveals her insight on certain situations. Through “The
…show more content…
Each character takes on a role depending on the gender and social class they belong to. The men have the lead part in the story. Mr. Summers leads the lottery because he is a male and in a higher class than the others The wealthier the man, the more power he holds in the village. The men in the story are also the first ones to draw because they are the heads of the households. The women follow and fall into their roles as a housewife. They talk quietly among themselves and let the men do the work. Everyone in the story knows what part they will play in the lottery, but the women play a much lesser part. Jackson uses the characters in the story to demonstrate how everyone has conformed into the roles that society thinks they are meant to conform to. The men are depicted as the leaders and the women follow silently behind. “The Lottery” demonstrates how these characters act and how they abide by the “roles” given to them based on what society thinks. The lottery serves a higher purpose than to just sacrifice someone, “it serves to reinforce the village’s hierarchical social order by instilling the villagers with an unconscious fear that if they resist this order they might be selected in the next lottery” (Kosenko 224). When Tessie Hutchinson screams because she finds out her husband has drawn the slip of paper with the mark on it, she is told to be a good sport. She did not stay quiet like all the women are expected to; coincidently, she was stoned in the end. Jackson is using this story to speak out for the deprivation of women’s rights, and how everyone has conformed to social
Each character takes on a role depending on the gender and social class they belong to. The men have the lead part in the story. Mr. Summers leads the lottery because he is a male and in a higher class than the others The wealthier the man, the more power he holds in the village. The men in the story are also the first ones to draw because they are the heads of the households. The women follow and fall into their roles as a housewife. They talk quietly among themselves and let the men do the work. Everyone in the story knows what part they will play in the lottery, but the women play a much lesser part. Jackson uses the characters in the story to demonstrate how everyone has conformed into the roles that society thinks they are meant to conform to. The men are depicted as the leaders and the women follow silently behind. “The Lottery” demonstrates how these characters act and how they abide by the “roles” given to them based on what society thinks. The lottery serves a higher purpose than to just sacrifice someone, “it serves to reinforce the village’s hierarchical social order by instilling the villagers with an unconscious fear that if they resist this order they might be selected in the next lottery” (Kosenko 224). When Tessie Hutchinson screams because she finds out her husband has drawn the slip of paper with the mark on it, she is told to be a good sport. She did not stay quiet like all the women are expected to; coincidently, she was stoned in the end. Jackson is using this story to speak out for the deprivation of women’s rights, and how everyone has conformed to social