Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” uses stones as a symbol to convey an underlying message that even though people practice certain traditions, it may be harmful to others. For instance the text stated “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” ( p. 34) . when Tessie Hutchinson was about to get stoned. This affirms that Tessie and all the people in the village know that the lottery is erroneous, and isn’t right but don't do anything to stop it or question it, from happening again. Another form where we could see the villagers not questioning their harmful tradition would have to be in page 25 where it states “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example” (p. 25) when the children
What if you were just informed that you won the lottery? Would you be happy? Would you tell everyone? That wasn’t the case for Tessie and her family. When they were gathered at the square in their town, on July 25 for the annual lottery day.
“The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson. The story revolves around the residents of this humble town who have concluded that a human life must be sacrificed annually in order for their crops to grow abundantly. This becomes problematic for protagonist Tessie who is chosen, helplessly begs for her life, but is inevitably killed due to town superstition. Consequently, Tessie’s failure to persuade her antagonists otherwise, highly regards Tessie as the most ineffective protagonist in a story. Tessie Hutchins would have been a more effective character had she realized that the town’s system was faulted in the first place.
In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," two characters stand out amidst the unsettling ritual: Tessie Hutchinson and Old Man Warner. Tessie, initially portrayed as a typical villager, transforms when her family is chosen for the sacrificial stoning. She embodies resistance against blind tradition, challenging the lottery's cruelty and unfairness. Her outcry, "It isn't fair, it isn't right," epitomises defiance against the town's ingrained customs, highlighting the dangers of conformity. On the other hand, Old Man Warner represents staunch adherence to tradition.
Explication of “The Lottery” In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” in the final paragraphs the character Tessie is the winner of the lottery which ironically means she will be getting stoned. The author uses theme of the story to display how traditions are blindly followed for centuries even if they lack any meaning to them at all. She uses several metaphors and allusions throughout the story to convey this message. The significance of the paragraph is even though they do not remember the originally ritual of the lottery yet they do not forget to follow and participate in it every year.
“The Lottery” mentions the black box, tradition and being nervous so much that the reader can't help but realize that that tradition is important in their community. The author uses contrast and contradiction in the story to also show that in the beginning Tessie didn't really think twice about tradition but in the end when she was in the position herself, people close to her began only then realizing that following blindly should not be the reason that you are keeping a
If selected, the second round was for individual family members to draw. The person picked is stoned to death to ensure a good harvest. Those who are responsible for Tessie’s death are her husband Bill, the town’s elder Old Man Warner, and the town’s society as a whole. One person responsible for Tessie’s death is her static husband Bill Hutchinson.
“The Lottery” Interpretive Essay “The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts of with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers, the official, holds the lottery. After that, every family draws out of an old black box, and a certain family gets picked. Out of the certain family, one person gets picked as the unlucky “winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery.
The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the characters have different views on the lottery. Tessie complains how Mr. Summers rushed Bill and that shows she does not like the lottery. She is also late to the lottery which shows she might not care about it. This is important because to Tessie, the lottery should never happen and she does not like or care about it. She goes to it because it is a tradition but she does not really want to go if she forgets about it.
“The Lottery” is an realism/horror story written by Shirley Jackson. The story is about some villagers of a small New England town who follow the tradition of making a lottery every year. When it comes, they like to celebrate it with the correct rules and the correct objects so they can feel more comfortable. Everyone need to take a slip of paper from a small black box, and the paper with a black dot in it means that the family is the winner, then they raffle again; Bill Hutchinson, who was the husband of the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson picked a paper with a black dot in it, that meant that Tessie was the winner of the lottery, then she starts complaining because the drawing was not conducted properly. At the end, the townspeople moved off to a cleared spot outside the town and they begin stoning her to death (Jackson).
So then Tessie starts to complain that the drawing was not set up properly (Jackson). In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses the symbolism, characterization, and theme to develop this short story. The symbolism of
Another quote to suggest the crowd grew nervous was when Mr. Adams was called upon, “They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously”. She described what the characters were doing and not what their thoughts or intentions were. Shirley Jackson intensified the feeling when Tessie hysterically protested Bill’s “winning” selection, by withholding information until the last possible second, she builds the story’s suspense and creates a shocking, powerful conclusion. In conclusion, The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson builds up suspense by foreshadowing the horrible moment through the children who felt uneasy and collected rocks, creating a character that stands out from the crowd, Tessie Hutchinson, the person who saved her husband but could not save herself. More importantly, withholding the true nature of the story until the end, leading to the tragic death of Tessie
Protagonist Although Jackson’s “The Lottery” is filled with many different outspoken characters, she utilizes characterization to turn an ordinary housewife into the conflicted protagonist. When Tessie Hutchinson is first introduced to the reader as a flat character, Jackson describes her as just an ordinary citizen “Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders” (Jackson, 1948, para.8).
“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts off with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers holds the lottery. Once everyone gathers, every family draws a slip of paper out of an old black box, and the family with the black mark on their paper gets picked. After that, each family member older than 3 years of age re-draws a slip of paper again and this time, the person with the black mark on their paper gets picked as the “lucky winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery, with her reward is being stoned to death.
She realizes that this is an unpleasurable and outdated tradition and should be forgotten only because she got chosen. However, if her family’s name wasn’t drawn, she would have blindly followed the ritual, thrilled to have escaped a gruesome, sacrificial death. As a reader it is easy to empathize for Tessie since she or others don’t have a voice in their community or are even able to look at the bigger picture and see that the lottery is unnecessary. Not only does the dramatic irony of the lottery allow the reader to understand Tessie’s view, it creates a similar feeling towards Bill Hutchinson. For example, “Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand.
