Misleading tradition In the short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, people in the village gather around for the annual lottery. In the end, Tessie, the wife of Bill Hutchinson, is the one to receive the black dot on her slip and everyone stones Tessie to death. Readers who read this tragedy may wonder why the community does this brutal event. Originally, the lottery was a sacrifice for the crops to flourish, but as time passed the ritual became a tradition. First off, the original purpose of this brutal event was to sacrifice a person for the corn crops to thrive.…
The Lottery symbolizes what the villagers morally accepted and what they did not question to be wrong with how this lottery was being run. The title is also ironic because we find out later in the story that the prize isn't what the prize is in today's society, but it would be a punishment. We find out that the prize isn't an award someone would want when Mrs. Hutchinson…
The man calls out the numbers. All the numbers are exactly the same as the numbers on the ticket. Some family member scream, while others cry tears of joy. This is usually the experience an individual will have if he/she wins the lottery. However, winning the lottery in “The Lottery” is quite a different situation.…
In “The Lottery” the situation was a long standing tradition. The adults and children have no knowledge of a time when the yearly lottery didn’t take place. They considered it to be a seasonal marker, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson). This was an annual tradition that there was no getting out of, no choice given. All townspeople were expected to participate.…
“The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson. It is about a lottery that takes place once a year in a small village. Many are wondering why they do a lottery so this paragraph is going to show you crucial evidence on why the event takes place. The reason why the villagers "have" to have a lottery is simply because the lottery had become a tradition that had been followed since the time of the villagers' ancestors. As a result, the villagers had become so used to repeating this practice over and over that they would not even find anything right, nor wrong, with it.…
In “The Lottery,” the reason the town does the lottery is because they believe that the lottery will bring a good harvest, and their ancestors did it before them. Old Man Warner explains, “‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”’ (pp. 293). The people of the town believe the lottery will ensure a good harvest by having a sacrifice. Also, the lottery does not serve a true purpose, and another reason why they have one is because their ancestors did it before them.…
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…
In the short story," The Lottery", it shows a fictional tradition where they, at the end, stone a member of a family. Even though this is injuring and killing a citizen or a whole family, they still continue it. It's tradition. Why would you stop? I do believe that if something is morally wrong, it should be stopped.…
The Stoning Ages Around the same time every year someone gets stoned, in the short story “The Lottery” By Shirley Jackson. The story takes place in a small town in New England. Every year a “lottery” as the villagers call it is held, one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been around for over seventy years by the townspeople.…
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…
In “The Lottery” , the tradition being handed down is the process of the lottery where the town sacrifices…
The story symbolizes tradition, unquestioned traditions that exist not just in the society of the Lottery. The Lottery suggests collective mentality, despite Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson being married he participates in the stoning of his wife, as do her children and friends. When a group is set in a tradition, people lose their individuality and may succumb to peer pressure. The fact that Mr. Hutchinson and her friends in the town can go from being neighbors and casual with each other one moment, to stoning her the next, show how quickly people can have a change of heart. The heavy emphasis on religious traditions and symbols make Shirley Jacksons the Lottery a dark and mysterious short story that leaves a lasting impression on the…
The choice to consider the lottery in your final thesis interests me greatly Andy (M. Stephens, personal communication, February 28, 2017). For example, my strict non-conformist Christian raising taught that the Lottery was of the Devil, and only sinners participate in the act of gambling. Therefore, even as an adult my personal experience with the lottery is limited, to say the least. However, my preference is to examine the premise of the lottery from a logical standpoint, rather than religious. One of my particular issues with playing the lottery is the seemingly minuscule odds of winning (Powerball, 2017).…
The central theme of this essay is telling my life story using three other stories I was reading in my english class. The first story is called “Without Title” which is about a girl and her dad who is native american as she is comparing him to a buffalo and his former native tradition. The second story is called “The Lottery” it is about a little town with a dark/weird tradition they have that has to do with death. The third story is called “What, of this Goldfish, Would you Wish” It’s about a man named Sergei that has a goldfish that grants 3 wishes and so far he uses 2 and has one left but he doesn’t want to use it because he sees the fish as a friend that he doesn’t want to lose.…
Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery is about a tradition where the villagers must make a sacrifice in order for their crops to have a good season. Tessie Hutchinson picks the slip of paper with the black coal mark in the center and she is the one to be sacrificed which means the villagers, even her family, must stone her to death. The theme of this story is that traditions can be good or bad. Traditions can result in lots of different scenarios. Tessie wins the lottery and she gets stoned which results in a bad scenario.…