Summary of the lottery by shirley jackson sparknotes. The Lottery Setting Summary & Analysis 2023-01-06
Summary of the lottery by shirley jackson sparknotes
Rating:
8,9/10
1221
reviews
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a small town that holds an annual tradition of a lottery in which one person is selected to be stoned to death. The story follows the townspeople as they go about their day, preparing for the lottery and choosing their slips of paper. The tension builds as it becomes clear that something sinister is about to happen, and the story ends with a shocking twist as the protagonist, Tessie Hutchinson, is chosen as the victim of the lottery.
The Lottery is a powerful commentary on the dangers of blindly following tradition and the brutality of mob mentality. It is a cautionary tale that serves as a reminder to question the practices and beliefs that we take for granted, as they may have dark and unsettling origins.
The story is told from an omniscient point of view, which allows the reader to see into the thoughts and feelings of the various townspeople. This technique helps to build suspense and creates a sense of unease as the characters go about their daily routines, unaware of the impending violence.
One of the most striking aspects of The Lottery is the way that it subverts the reader's expectations. At first, the story seems to be a lighthearted tale of a small town coming together for an annual event. However, as the story progresses and the details of the lottery are revealed, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary tradition. The use of foreshadowing and symbolism helps to build the sense of dread that ultimately leads to the shocking conclusion.
In conclusion, The Lottery is a thought-provoking and disturbing story that forces the reader to confront the dark side of human nature. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of questioning tradition and the dangers of blindly following the crowd.
The Lottery
He appears to be volunteering to organize multiple local events such as dances and holiday celebrations. Lists are made of the households and the heads of each household, and Mr. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. Dunbar is absent because of the broken leg, but his wife is willing to take his place. However, unlike any usual lottery, the winner is stoned to death by their fellow townsmen, women and children included. Tessie Hutchinson , the declared winner, was led to the center of a cleared space, and with her hands desperately held out in front of her she was hit with the first stone. She has drawn the marked paperâshe has herself become markedâand according to the logic of the lottery, she therefore must die.
Next
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
How do we know when something is inhumane? As the drawing progresses, Mrs. Bill, his wife Tessie and their three children Bill Jr. The death on lottery day was thought to be normal in these towns, but it was not normal to me. As the reader reads the first paragraph they think this is a happy story. The black box used for the lottery is even older than the oldest town citizen, Before commencing the lottery, several lists had to be made: heads of households, heads of families, and members of each family.
Next
The Lottery Shirley Jackson
Although many traditional customs associated with the lottery seemed to have been lost over time, Mr. Graves particularly the latter , foreshadow later events. Then, the lottery begins. This tradition is based on a lottery. Heads of the families come forward when they hear their names, and no one unfolds the papers until the last one is drawn. No villager believes they can select the unlucky slip, so their selection is doubt-filled. The lottery seems to have been a custom around the area for over seventy years.
Next
The Lottery Quotes: Hypocrisy
The reader begins to understand the purpose of the stones the children have been gathering. He has created lists of households, including the heads of households in each family, and members of each household in each family. Summers conducts the lottery, as well as the square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween Program. Summer reads the rules and the lottery begins. Jackson may be hinting at the prehistoric ritualistic traditions that often occurred at that time. Tessie protests the game; however, Mrs. It is clear that both authors displayed the setting from the very beginning to set the undertone of the short stories.
Next
The Lottery and Other Stories âThe Lotteryâ Summary and Analysis
If someone must be stoned, perhaps the random selection is the most fair method of doing something which could never be fair to the victim. At the start, the reader might mistake this for a game. Then Bill Hutchinson looked at the paper and notice that he got the black dot. . Summers asks for help as prepares the box for the lottery, the nearby villagers seem reluctant to get too close to the box. Nonetheless, even with the protest, Tessie unsuccessfully questions the practice.
Next
The Lottery: Themes
In "After You, My Dear Alphonse" and "Flower Garden," Jackson highlights the outdated racism of Other physical elements in "The Lottery" suggest that this tradition is outdated and should be discarded. Among the themes in the tale is how traditions can be meaningless and harmful to the people keeping them. . Learn more There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching. Perhaps this extremely subversive irony was a factor that led to many readers' outrage over the story when it was first published. The young boys of the town, fresh out of school for the summer, gathered stones into piles.
Next
The True Sense of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
In addition to our premade activities, here are some ideas that teachers can customize and assign to students to spark creativity in individual students, pairs, or small groups for a final project. Although is the analysis that is given may not reflect in any way with the articulated principles. At the end of World War II no one really knew what could come next for the world and neither did Jackson, so The Lottery does a great job of representing the uncertainty and distress felt after the second great war. Jackson uses this to her advantage in order to blindly lead the readers to a false sense of security. The Lottery Analysis The story initially received a lot of hate; people canceled subscriptions to The New Yorker and send a lot of hate mail. One more thing to notice is the treatment of women in this story.
Next
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Plot Summary
When Dave the youngest child is not selected everyone is happy but if he was selected they would have killed him anyway. Summers reaches the end of the names, the heads of households unfold their papers. Tessie tries to make the other villagers understand the lost significance of the tradition, but their ignorance makes none realize her plea. The torn and worn black box cannot be replaced since it is part of the ritualized affair and it is the responsibility of Mr. .
Next
Analysis of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
Jackson sets up a deceiving scene on a clear sunny day in June and instantly makes you rethink your warm feelings after realizing what the lottery system really is. In this case, however, Jackson's lottery results not in a winner but in a definite loser who is stoned to death by the village. On June 26 of every year, Mr. He is sworn in so that it is all correctly done. Fairness as a lottery is depicted to be a subjective and manipulated matter. As some villagers help Mr. Bill Hutchinson is the last one.
Next