Shirley Ardell Mason

Blindly following society’s norms can lead to consequences that negatively affect the lives of the followers. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery begins with a focus on the villagers gathering for a lottery. The people begin to wonder where Tessie Hutchinson is who shows up late. Once the lottery begins, Mr. Hutchinson draws the marked paper leading to Tessie being chosen. She attempts to reason with the people claiming “it isn’t fair” (Jackson 6), however the villagers ignore her pleas and attack…

O.Henry’s unique style was often reflected in his work. One element of his unique style was situational irony. This means that his stories had surprise endings or sudden, surprising plot twists. In the short story, “After Twenty Years” by O.Henry, Bob, a criminal, believes that he is reuniting with and old friend, but he finds that the man he was walking with is not who he thought he was. “You’re not Jimmy Wells,” (228). This shows situational irony because Bob suddenly finds out that he has…

In River Hymns, specifically “Dirt Cakes” and “Southern Silence,” Tyree Daye depicts Youngsville as a small, rural, white majority with racial divisions -- racism. He has a place in the town amongst all of the problems, along with family and friends. The adults in the family have to let loose and forget what has happened throughout the week with drinking and dancing. This shows the backgrowling work that they are forced into and in a bad working environment. He writes in a way that is not happy…

ACAHRYA P. C. RAY CASE STUDY COMPETITION KUMARTULI- INDIA’S ONLY POTTER’S TOWN BY RASHI AGARWAL IBSK INTRODUCTION Kolkata – “The City of Furious, Creative Energy” is a city of matchless culture, traditions, food and festivals. During the month of October, the colorful and festive spirit of this city can be relished when the biggest festival, Durga Puja, is celebrated. The first idol worship of Goddess Durga in recorded history is said to be celebrated in the late 1500…

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” begins in a small town of 300 and on the 27th of June the townspeople assemble once a year for the lottery. Mr. Summers conducts the lottery and places an old worn out black box that’s older than all citizens on a stool, which contains slips of paper. Detailed list is made of each family, Mr. Summers takes note of the ones unable to attend and the lottery begins with the head of each household taking a slip of paper. They check their slips of paper and the one who…

face to face with your true love. Being in the right place at the right time can change the course of one’s life. However, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can create a life of chaos, or even the tragic, and inexplicable ending of lives. Shirley Jackson’s renowned short story, “The Lottery” displays how the wicked game of chance is apparent not only in fiction but in today’s chaotic, and often needless acts of violence. The elements of fiction often present…

situations, traditions are truly harmless, but what if there was a cycle of tradition that did cause harm? A cycle that’s impossible to break, is it still considered an innocent tradition? That’s the same predicament that the villagers are in, in Shirley Jackson’s “The…

Both “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “First They Came” by Martin Niemoller deals with speaking out and tragic death. In “The Lottery,” Mr. Summers conducted the lottery this year. Over the years, the black box is passed on. Each year, one person gets stoned to death. In “The Lottery,” death comes by lottery and while the people are not like killing a person that they care for, but it is a tradition. In “First They Came”, the main character does not seem to care about others who have died…

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…

Fear In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” Most people would like to win the lottery because it has to deal with winning money. In this story the lottery deals with death. The lottery in real life is about winning “big bucks” and becoming a millionaire. In this story, Shirley Jackson uses the lottery to symbolize death for the townspeople. In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses the black box, the stones, and the black-dotted piece of paper to symbolize the fear of the townspeople. In transition,…