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How Does Shirley Jackson Use Irony In The Lottery

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The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story about ignorance to traditions. In “The Lottery”, Jackson uses a variety of literary devices to show the danger of following traditions blindly. “The Lottery” is about a small village that participates in an annual lottery. Every family draws a piece of paper from a black box. The Hutchinsons each have to draw an additional slip of paper when they are chosen. However, the story has a grim ending in which Tessie’s friends and family stone her to death. To begin the story, Jackson integrates multiple representations of irony to create a contrast between expectation of the lottery, and the reality. Next, the author describes many instances of foreshadowing to create an atmosphere of suspense for the reader that …show more content…

Finally, Jackson focuses on using paradoxes of rules, and the lack of rules, to communicate the idea that the villagers are not aware of the motives for their actions. All together, Jackson uses irony, foreshadowing, and paradoxes to establish the theme that one should be wary of the dangers of blindly following traditions. Throughout the short story, use of irony develops the theme. The first example of irony that “The Lottery” emphasizes is the name itself. The word lottery has a positive connotation to it. This leads the reader to believe that the winner of the lottery will receive a gracious, and good-hearted award. The reality, however, is the opposite. This relates to the theme, because the reader’s assumption of what will happen based on the title is a contradiction to the actual message. Another type of irony that is prominent is situational irony. Situational irony occurs when what actually happens is the

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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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341 Words | 2 Pages

The Lottery Essay This story by Shirley Jackson is very well written and ends with irony. The story was about a village who had an annual lottery. All of the villagers gathered and took a piece of paper from a black box. Tessie is a lady whose husband won and she said it was not fair.

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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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472 Words | 2 Pages

Shirley Jackson in the lottery uses situational irony to get her point across. For example, at the end the Tessie Hutchinson is the winner of the lottery, “‘It isn't fair,’ she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, ‘Come on, come on, everyone’”(Jackson 1).This is situational irony because the reader thinks that the winner of the lottery will get something good

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876 Words | 4 Pages

In short stories, symbols are often used to convey the meaning behind the characters and their settings. Often times, symbols indirectly foreshadow what the story’s theme is trying to portray. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses the power of symbolism from the annual ritual show to how the town doesn’t question it’s purpose. Unfortunately, many people were more concerned with the idea of themselves being stoned and the stoning process than the life that was being taken from the town. Jackson uses the symbolism of the traditional black box, outdated salute, and shredded papers to lead up to future events.

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186 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, villagers hold a drawing annually to pick one person to stone to death as a tradition. Ironically, the townspeople called the event the lottery. When modern-day people hear of a lottery, they typically think of a way to get an abundance of money. The reader would think that is what Shirley Jackson meant when she wrote of a lottery until the villagers became increasingly nervous. In this case, the irony is that winning the lottery leads to death instead of gaining something.

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497 Words | 2 Pages

Right from the cover Jackson uses irony to catch the reader with a titling of “The Lottery”. Coupling that with the description and setting the event in the village square in the beginning of June sets the reader up for a warm inviting happy story. The use of some of the villagers names also play a role in both foreshadowing and irony, for instance Mr. Summers would generally make you think of summer time, bringing life to everything when actually this lottery is quite the opposite. Then there is Mr. Graves which plays into a little foreshadowing with the inevitable need for a grave by the lottery’s end. Mrs. Hutchinson has quite a bit of foreshadowing centered around her character, from being late and Mr. Summers mentioning about it being a shame if they had to start without her to her response of “wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe” (Jackson, 2016) with the implication they would be left longer than the couple hours it would take for the lottery.

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969 Words | 4 Pages

In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, Jackson depicts a society, dominated by men, where ritual murder not only is tolerated but also embraced. It is a society where, every year, the villagers come together and randomly draw slips of paper to determine which member of a family is going to be murdered. “The Lottery” shows an “innate savagery of man" (Nebeker 1). Despite a civilized outward appearance with schools, post offices, and banks, the villagers have not progressed from a primitive and inner Cain and Abel mentality where they are able to kill savagely on command with no remorse and no shame, just like Cain, who was able to kill his brother with no shame because Cain's offering was insufficient. The theme of shamelessness in a male-dominated society runs throughout “The Lottery,” not just during its horrible ending, and especially becomes obvious in the villagers’ lack of respect for life.

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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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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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605 Words | 3 Pages

Shirley Jackson’s “The lottery” is a story based on tradition. When hearing the word tradition, most people think of team rituals before games, or something families do together annually. However, Jackson is obviously not like most people. She builds up a fair amount of tension around this ritual that is taking place to make readers wonder what is going on. She uses many different techniques to show that sometimes, traditions are not always meant to go on forever.

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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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