Irony In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Irony is the use of words in a way to convey a meaning that is opposite from the literal meaning. There are a few types of irony. Situational irony is when something happens that is the opposite of what is expected. Another type of irony is verbal irony is a contrast between the intended meaning of what is spoken and waht the apparent meaning is to the hearer. Lastly, dramatic irony is when the audience knows something a character does not. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, she uses all three types of irony to enhance literary elements. The story’s situational irony is very straightforward. Throughout the story, the reader thinks someone is going to win money or a prize in the lottery. The characters joke about the lottery at the beginning of the story. This is one of the reasons the reader would expect the lottery to have a pleasant ending. For example, “‘Get up there, Bill,’ Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed.” In this quote Tessie Hutchinson is making a joke as her …show more content…
“‘Harburt….Hutchinson.’ ‘Get up there, Bill,’ Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed.” As the reader can see by the dialogue, the people in the village joke about the lottery. This shows that they do not think what they are doing is wrong. The townspeople are so accustomed to tradition that they are blind to the reality of what they are doing. They have done this their whole lives, so they think it is a normal thing to do. “‘Some places have already quit lotteries,’ Mrs. Adams said. ‘Nothing but trouble in that,’ Old Man Warner said stoutly.” This quote shows how the dramatic irony adds to the setting of the story. Since the village is so accustomed to tradition, they will not change like other places around them. This shows how isolated this village must be. If they were closer to other villages they would stop doing lotteries as well. Shirley Jackson’s use of dramatic irony affects the setting of “The