The Lottery An Annual Ritual - 1280 Words

This story describes a fictional small town which observes—as do many other communities, both large and small, throughout contemporary America—an annual ritual known as the lottery. Details of contemporary small-town American life are embroidered upon a description of an annual ritual known as the lottery. In a small village of about 300 residents, the locals are in an excited yet nervous mood on June 27. Children gather stones as the adult townsfolk assemble for their annual event, which in the local tradition is practiced to ensure a good harvest (Old Man Warner quotes an old proverb: Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon), though there are some rumors that nearby communities in the north are talking about giving up the lottery. The lottery preparations start the night before with Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves making the paper slips and the list of all the families. Once the slips are finished, they are put into a black box, which is stored overnight in a safe at the coal company. The story briefly mentions how the ballot box has been stored other years in various places in the town, which currently differ from the current lottery but with the same concept. On the morning of the lottery, the town’s people start to close at 10 a.m. in order to have everything done in time for lunch. First, the heads of the households draw slips until every head of the household has a slip (for the first round, the men have to be over sixteen years of age). Bill Hutchinson gets the one slipShow MoreRelatedHunger Games versus The Lottery Essay932 Words   |  4 PagesThe Lottery (Jackson, pg 163-170) and The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) are both popular pieces of seemingly like, popular literature. Rituals and rules come into play strongly in both stories. In comparing The Lottery (Jackson, pg 163-170) and The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) I find that both stories focus strongly on their annual rituals of sacrifice with a scapegoat. The Lottery (Jackson, pg 163-170) and The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) have a ceremony, a formal event that brings theRead MoreResearch Paper on Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery†1141 Words   |  5 PagesJackso ns â€Å"The Lottery† is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longerRead MoreAn Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson744 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† - For Analysis 1. There are multiple examples to suggest that â€Å"The Lottery† is a ritualistic ceremony. In several instances â€Å"The Lottery† is referred to as a ritual: â€Å"..so much of the ritual had been forgotten..† and â€Å"†¦because so much of the ritual had been forgotten†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . In addition, the ceremony happens annually on June 27th, a t0:00 a.m., suggesting a ceremonial quality. This happens with such regularity that the citizens â€Å"†¦only half listened to the directions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This ceremonyRead More Essay on Shirley Jacksons The Lottery - Blind Obedience Exposed954 Words   |  4 PagesBlind Obedience Exposed in The Lottery    The annual ritualistic stoning of a villager in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery parallels tradition in American culture.   This paper will inform the reader of the effect tradition has on characters in the short story The Lottery and how traditions still strongly influence peoples lives in america.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christian weddings hold many traditions and superstitions that seemingly defy logic.   Although most couples no longer have arrangedRead MoreSymbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson879 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery† is an unusual story of a town caught in a trap of following tradition. Shirley Jackson uses many symbols in the story to relate to the theme. By doing this it helps the reader understand the story and the message she is trying to get across. Jackson uses tone, setting, and symbolism to conduct a theme for her readers. By doing this she creates connections to the theme by using the black box and old man Warner as a symbol. Old man Warner plays a significant role in â€Å"The Lottery† consideringRead MoreThe Significance Of Character Names In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1587 Words   |  7 Pages In a short story that was written by Shirley Jackson, The Lottery, is a short literature that discussed an annual lottery draw that took place in a small New England town. In the literature, Jackson presented the event that took place in the small town very summer time of the year, in which one random villager get chosen and to be stoned to death by the people in the village. As Jackson stated in her short literature, the lottery has been practiced in the small village for over seventy yearsRead MoreThe Lottery : Dissecting Sociological Horrors Essay1551 Words   |  7 Pages The Lottery: Dissecting Sociological Horrors When you hear the word â€Å"lottery†, what do you think? In Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, readers are presented with an ironic, dramatic, bleak tale about a small village gathering for not exactly what one would call a lottery. Born in San Francisco, California in 1916, Jackson spent much of her early life writing poetry and journal entries. After enrolling in the University of Rochester, she eventually withdrew to pursue her dreams of becoming a writerRead MoreSymbolism in the Lottery1391 Words   |  6 PagesShirley Jackson#8217;s, #8220;The Lottery#8221;, clearly expresses her feelings concerning traditional rituals through her story. It opens the eyes of readers to properly classify and question some of today#8217;s traditions as cruel, and allows room to foretell the outcome of these unusual traditions. #8220;The Lottery#8221; is a short story that records the annual sacrifice ceremony of a fictional small town. It is a detailed narrative of the selection of t he person to be sacrificed, aRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson910 Words   |  4 PagesLiterary Analysis of the Short Story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson explores the subject of tradition in her short story â€Å"The Lottery†. A short story is normally evaluated based on its ability to provide a satisfying and complete presentation of its characters and themes. Shirley describes a small village that engages in an annual tradition known as â€Å"the lottery†. Narrating the story from a third person point of view, Shirley uses symbolism, foreshadowing and suspense to illustrateRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1692 Words   |  7 PagesShirley Jackson was a very popular American author in her time. Over the years Jackson s bizarre short stories have been receiving a substantial increase of criticism and attention. Jackson is most known for her short story â€Å"The Lottery†, which was first published in â€Å"The New Yorker† in June of 1948. Jackson s story had received tons of feedback, little which honored her writing, but majority that had belittled her. Jackson’s life was very interesting for her time. Jackson was known as a depressed