Lotteries

Playing the lottery has its advantages and disadvantages; if you win you can become a millionaire and never have to work a day for the rest of your life if you lose then congratulations you just wasted money on a lottery ticket. Gambling has become an addiction for millions of people in the U.S., and that its disadvantages far outweigh the small chance of winning. Winning the lottery and playing the lottery too much is affecting how are people treated, how their money is spent, and how the…

not okay to discuss them. Both The Lottery and Hills Like White Elephants share the same theme; they both avoid difficult topics because of the traditions they’ve always participated in and the beliefs they never questioned. However, they are also different in the sense that in one story the theme is about society’s expectations and in the other, the theme focuses on how to handle an unplanned pregnancy and how sensitive the topic is. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, takes place during the…

thinker from the short story “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, goes against the traditional social norms and viewpoints of her townspeople. However, this outcry for a change in morals fails to save her life as she is cruelly stoned to death. Personal opinions, beliefs, values…

around a black box; the box is then used to perform a lottery, which decides the death of a different individual every year. Although this does not seem morally correct, in the short story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, a small community holds an annual lottery; in preparation, the boys in town gather stones, the residents gather at the center of the town, and Mr. Summers brought out the black box, all as per tradition. During this lottery, each head of the households within the town…

Throughout the story “The Lottery” the black box is the most notable and prevalent symbol that reoccurs in the book. The Black Box represents the illogical blind loyalty to society's ways. We can see this through many unexplainable actions made by the population of the town. Not only has a whole group, but the actions of a single person as well. We when think of children we often associate the gentle innocents, and the untainted mind that kids generally have. In the story this gentle innocents…

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is an interesting great short story filled with symbolism. This short story is based on a small village that has a “lottery” every year. This lottery has been a ritual that has been passed down ever since the village has been founded. In this short story Jackson uses “The Lottery” to help her show her readers that human nature is tainted, no matter how pure one thinks they are, or how pure their environment may seem to be. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism, imagery,…

Behind Closed Doors From the outside looking in, most people look to have normal lives. Normal as in what society dictates as normal. But if you really knew what went on behind closed doors, you might be appalled. Shirley Jackson, writer, wife, and mother, knew just that. Jackson lived a life with many experiences from childhood to adulthood that would influence her writing style and the content of which she wrote. From an early age, Jackson learned that things are not always as they appear.…

Literary Devices In the three short stories The Lottery, The Yellow Wallpaper, and A Rose for Emily, the stories take place during different times and have hardly any plot similarities. All three authors of these stories used literary devices; we will look at how they use these literary devices in each store. In the story The Lottery the author uses foreshadowing and The Yellow Wallpaper imagery and in A Rose for Emily metaphors. In the short story, The Lottery a foreshadowing event takes place…

“The Lottery” is a shocking tale of tradition and the horrifying results when are taken to the extreme. The author’s word choice, setting, and overall tone used in conveying the story sends a powerful message to the reader. The style and diction used by Jackson to create a familiar and comforting setting and tone in her tale of senseless violence both brings the violence of human nature closer to home and reveals the darker nature of tradition, however comforting it might seem. The Lottery was…

We often associate winning with some amount of luck being had by said winner. But we don’t often think about the times when being the winner at something comes with a more unsavory prize. In the short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, both authors demonstrate a situation in which winning may not be the preferred option, and making it to the winner’s circle does not involve luck. And while luck is often the precursor to winning something…