Shirley Ardell Mason

Traditions are found within every culture, every family, and every person. Many people fear breaking an outdated tradition although most people follow traditions out of habit without it having a significant meaning. “You must be in tune with the times and prepared to break with tradition.” This philosophical quote by James Agee, provokes the reader to contemplate their own traditions and question the reasonings behind them. The reluctance of people to reject outdated traditions and practices, is…

1. I think “The Lottery” takes place somewhere rural in the United States. As stated in the text, this story takes place in a small village with around 300 people. I think the writer Shirley Jackson made this setting appear familiar and ordinary because the people living in this village are normal people and they live in a normal village. I also think the writer tried to shock the readers at the end when we realize these people in this village aren’t so normal because they stoned Mrs.…

In the story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson the town’s people have a strange tradition. The tradition consists of a lottery, but it ends with the “winner” getting stoned by the rest of the town. Throughout the story, the reader finds out that in the end this tradition is pointless and does more harm than good. They should abandon the tradition of the lottery all together specifically because the lack of benefits from the tradition, the psychological affects it has on the participants and the…

"Peeled" is a young adult novel by Joan Bauer which focuses on the adventures of aspiring journalist Hildy Biddle. Residing in upstate New York's town of Banesville, sixteen year-old Hildy is the best writer for her school's paper, The Core. The daughter of deceased reporter Mitch Biddle, Hildy aspires to be a journalist. She is a student at Banesville High, and is well aware of the ghost stories that are circulating around the old Ludlow House. Banesville is a community known for its farming,…

Trichotillomania It rolls neatly off the tongue Like the kind of disease that makes friends easy And doesn’t pick you apart like vultures overhead Has it always been jerking around in this body? Bouncing around like a game of pinball in a beat up old machine? Ready to fling it’s force around at the suggestion of thought, the leverage of a hand Trichooo-tillo-maniaaaa I can overcome it, I know I can Wait no, an hour passed me by and wait no, another pile of discarded hair on…

Perception vs. Reality The importance of looking at what really happens beneath the surface of a person, a culture, or a society is that you never really know what happens underneath. If you use “the lottery”, for example, you think their society is normal because they just talk and act like normal until you find out that once a year they have the tradition of “The Lottery”. You think the lottery is something amazing where you win money and try to get things but really at the end of it…

great example of surprise because there are unexpected occurrences on every page. The effect of surprise is shown with the use of terms in a story. How an author creates a surprise is a big factor in a story . In the story “The Lottery” the author, Shirley Jackson The use of foreshadowing the author used in “The Lottery”, really the effect by using a hint of what is to come later in the story. In the second paragraph, children put stones in their pockets and make piles of stones in the town…

Traditions of the lottery have been implemented in the cities for as long as people can remember; furthermore, the lottery has at least occurred for 77 years, because that’s Mr. Warner’s current age, he states the lottery has been occurring since he was born. Participants include all families, and all members of the family have to participate. Annually during the lottery, each head of the household has to go up on stage to draw, when each family has a slip of paper, everyone waits in…

their rituals and ignore the complications that exist or should they modify or drop their belief because of the conflicts? The conflict in the short story “The Lottery” depicts as Man Versus Society, between the struggle of tradition and questioning. Shirley Jackson reveals the message of people should question their doings instead of neglect disagreements, even though is against convention, because the ignorance can result in tragic consequences. Conflict contributes most to the story’s theme…

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson describes a village that follows a tradition that is inhumane without a question because it is their tradition that has been passed down for many generations. One of the literary critic said, “…it describes man’s victimization by… ‘unexamined and unchanging traditions which he could easily change if he only realized their implications.’ ” In the story, the lottery takes place every single year with the head of the family drawing a paper and one of the family…