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How Does Shirley Jackson Use Irony In The Lottery

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Shirley Jackson strategically withholds information from the reader in order to produce a twist ending that packs a punch in the story, “The Lottery”. As a bonus to the ending of “The Lottery” Jackson foreshadows the late events with irony. Irony is seen as a major component in the title, setting and characterization that helps bring the story toward a shocking conclusion. The use of irony does not begin with any element in the first sentence but within the title itself “The Lottery”. Anyone familiar with the word ‘lottery’ would expect a game of chance that results in a winner of either a prize of currency or material wealth. Jackson uses this well known assumption to her advantage as she laces the title with irony. Little does the reader
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526 Words | 3 Pages

The Lottery (1948) by Shirley Jackson is shown to be about a small town gathering to draw slips of paper, and if you unfortunately get the slip of paper with the black dot you'll be stoned. After the drawing in the short story Tessie is stoned to death. Shirley Jackson used some foreshadowing that lead to the downfall. Everyone is aware of what happens at the end but their is no way to avoid it, because it was a tradition and the townspeople refused to make changes. All though some tradition where forgotten or let go of over time.

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245 Words | 1 Pages

The most obvious example of irony in “The Lottery” is in the title of the story itself. When people think about the lottery, it is usually about winning a reward or a prize, and definitely not about being stoned to death. Shirley Jackson’s intention to name the title of this story as “The Lottery”, gives the readers an idea that someone will receive a reward. In fact, at the end of the story, the readers eventually realize that the reward is not what they think it’s going to be but rather a completely opposite thing. The second example of irony is in the setting of the story.

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2309 Words | 10 Pages

Annotated Bibliography 1. Jackson The Lottery By: Yarmove, Jay A. Explicator. Summer94, Vol. 52 Issue 4, p242. 4p.

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322 Words | 2 Pages

Usually there’s a winner in a lottery, but not in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. This story intrigued me by it's suspenseful nature and it's chaotic events. In small town America, they come together once a year to perform an annual tradition. Mrs. Jackson demonstrates literary devices such as foreshadowing, mood, and conflict in “The Lottery”. Foreshadowing is used quite a few times in “The Lottery”.

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1737 Words | 7 Pages

The short story “The lottery” is about a small village that has an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. Many of the townspeople know this is inhumane, but they choose not to speak out because their name isn’t picked. Jackson uses direct characterization to describe all the characters in the village and uses symbolism throughout the story. Not to forget about the vivid description of the setting in the beginning of the short story. Shirley

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150 Words | 1 Pages

One common thing among Shirley Jackson’s short stories is the use of irony to enhance the story. Irony plays an important role in both “The Possibility of Evil” and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson because it helps develop the conflict and theme

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1000 Words | 4 Pages

In 1948, when the New Yorker published Shirley Jacksons piece, “The Lottery,” it sparked outrage among readers, but could arguably be known as one of her most famous pieces of writing. In this short story, Shirley Jackson used literally elements such as imagery, diction, and symbolism to foreshadow the negative and harsh ending of the story; the harsh ending that sparked such outrage by society in the 1940’s. One of the main ways Jackson foreshadows the ending and true meaning of her short story, “The Lottery,” is through symbolism. Jackson uses the color black throughout the story.

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687 Words | 3 Pages

Jackson utilizes satirical writing to criticize the tendency to stick to old traditions despite how they can be outdated, not true to their origins, and in the case of the lottery, quite senseless. He first paints a simple picture of town and a mysterious lottery that is heavily backed by tradition, which is made visible through the inclusion of Old Man Warner. Jackson also makes his point well known by mentioning on multiple occasions that the village has lost the procedure and meaning of the lottery to time. Jackson’s The Lottery seems innocent enough at first, but the included twist at the end achieves his goal of criticizing a blind adherence to tradition. In The Lottery Jackson harnesses both satirical and subtly critical language to

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584 Words | 3 Pages

The Lottery is one of Shirley Jackson’s masterpiece. She was born in California, graduated from Syracuse University in New York and was successful in writing novels, short stories, children’s fiction and biographies. In this short story, Jackson showed uncommon and absurd events in common settings that when it was published, many of the readers asked her questions as to how the conclusion was interpreted. In this analysis, Formalistic approach is the approach used.

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3/8/2017 The lottery essay Anan Istetieh Anticipation mingled with uncertainty, better known, as suspense, is an inevitable quality of human nature. Suspense is occasionally a great mechanism. It allows the author to keep the readers alert and leads up to the element of surprise, which is a successful writing tool that makes a story more enjoyable. The story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson builds up suspense through the foreshadowing of a horrible moment, creating a character that stands out from the crowd all while withholding the true nature of the story. The author of “The Lottery” foreshadowed the horrible climax of the story by explaining how the children were recently released from school for the summer, but they felt discomfort, “and

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871 Words | 4 Pages

While real life traditions are rarely so extreme, Jackson’s exaggerated fictional example emphasizes her point to great effect. By the end of the story, the audience is convinced that the town is wrong to uphold the lottery tradition, but Jackson is not really writing about a lottery; she is writing about how damaging it can

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1333 Words | 6 Pages

Full of plot twists, and turns, “The Lottery” relies on its characters to convey a sense of normalcy throughout a majority of the story. The villagers’ acceptance of rituals allows them to act normal while knowingly partaking in a deadly tradition. Jackson’s brilliant use of deceptiveness leaves readers blind sighted as one could never predict this story’s outcome. Jackson’s work is renowned because of its unpredictable shift in tone. June 27, may appear to be a pleasant summer day, but this prediction could not be further from the truth.

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604 Words | 3 Pages

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson It creates a sense of suspense and shock to everyone who reads it and is considered an all time great. In her story she develops this suspense by the use of irony, imagery, and foreshadowing to develop her theme. One device that Shirley uses in her story is the use of irony.

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596 Words | 3 Pages

By incorporating dramatic irony into “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson is able to convey a sense of understanding and compassion towards the character. This first instance of dramatic irony is where Tessie is pleading to the town’s people that they were unfair to her husband. “People began to look around to see the Hutchinsons. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly.

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809 Words | 4 Pages

The short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson is full of literary elements. The old and innocent, small town atmosphere creates the perfect stage for this ironic tale. Several literary elements are evident throughout the composition but three specific elements stand out the most. Jackson’s unique ability to use tone and style, symbolism, and theme are what makes this story so fascinating. Tone and style are critical literary elements in “The Lottery.”

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