Shirley Phelps-Roper

the word “lottery”, we often associate it with the very slim chance of winning a large sum of money, but however slim that chance is, the “lottery” is associated with something good in our society today. However, in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, that is not the case. The short story is about a small village that is preparing for an annual ritual. The short story begins with a group of children collecting and gathering stones into a large pile. This seems innocent enough,…

people you look to after receiving bad news are the people who you are looking to find some sort of comfort in. Just like in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin setting, symbolism, and dialogue are all important factors used by the narrator in order to correctly portray each character and the setting. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson as well as “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin…

Bandwagon is a term used to describe a group of people who participate/like a certain thing only due to the fact that it is currently popular. The towns’ people in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, may not particularly like the Lottery game they play every year; however, proceed along with this game due to the fact everyone else does. It takes a special kind of person to swim against the current and to speak out on what she/he believes. Tessie becomes alienated because she is different from…

In the Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it tells about a drawing held every year in a village every year. That the lottery has been going on for as been going on for a long time now. Even though the author does not clearly state the origin of the lottery or what it is about she does state that the person is chosen at random. The use of symbolism, Shirley Jackson uses the setting, names, and even the objects to give the reader clues on what the lottery is really about throughout the story. In the…

A lottery ticket is a voucher for a prize but not a voucher to end a life. Normally people would be so enthusiastic if he or she had won the lottery. As for the short story, “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson is a different type of lottery; everyone is expecting to see a villager gets execute. The idea seems to be absurd by persecuting an innocent citizen but it’s a tradition to these villagers because everyone has to participate and not question about it. As for the black box itself, it…

The Lottery was written in 1948 by seasoned author, Shirley Jackson. The short story, originally published in The New Yorker, is about a small village of roughly three hundred citizens that gather in the village square. They are there to participate in the yearly lottery to see who will be stoned to death. Whole families are present to participate, even the children help by gathering the stones that will be used. The lottery consists of two sets of drawings; the first one to be done by the head…

of winning the lottery are about 1 in 176 million. Most people understand the improbable reality of winning, yet there are those who continue to cling to their slim-to-none chances with the hope of being the lucky winner (creative verb: cling). In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” a small village, with a population of 300 people, endures an annual lottery (diverse syntax). The chances of being the lucky winner are highly favorable with the odds being 1 in 300. Despite the seemingly encouraging…

customs in society could harm its citizens and even create violence between them. Blind people’s traditionalism in the story leads to rejecting the understanding of the purpose of the annual lottery ritual. Though the elements of fiction in her story, Shirley Jackson shows that although the villagers do not try to maintain the specifics of the lottery, they do not want to improve upon the tradition either. Moreover, she wants to convey to the reader that all traditions should be understandable…

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.…

The author of The Lottery, Shirley Jackson, makes use of symbolism throughout her short story to get her intended purpose across to the audience. Throughout the storyline, the image of the “black-box” is mentioned approximately 20 times. This box plays quite a large role in the plot of the story in that the pieces of paper inside of it ultimately determines the fate of one the villager’s lives. Whichever individual draws the sheet of paper from the black box with the black dot on is plagued with…