Mood In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Mood is a prominant literary device in this story. The couples in the series of stories go through many different scenarios, where the only guideline is a happy ending. Yet as the story itself changes, the mood created does as well. The first section of the story is rather lighthearted, where “John and Mary fall in love and get married (289)". However, in the third section of the story, the mood becomes tense when John is "overcome with despair (290)" over the fact that Mary is with someone else. Then choosing to act on impulse, he then goes out to purchase a handgun and kills everyone involved. The mood went from lighthearted to dark and tragic when a small detail in the original story changed. . Going from there, the last mini story takes

A lottery is a familiar concept and topic, but this time the object of the game is death. In this dystopian world in which the lottery takes place, the lottery is a casual yearly event. The narriator states how “The lottery was conducted- as were square dances, the teenage club- (410)”. It is a casual and thoughtless subject, so the implied significance of the lottery is quite low. In fact, until the end of the story, the lottery seems like a benificial money gaining event that we hold in modern society. Yet, this lottery is not benificial, as it ends in the violent death of a friend, family, or neighbor. The significange of the lottery was doubted, though everyone participating was well prepared, as “the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.

Everything in this society seemed to be changing. This included the box they used, the rules they ditched, and even some cities have stopped the lottery all together. The lack of change within that town’s society is also an important concept to keep in mind, as they are one of the towns that has refused to change the long lasting traditon of the lottery, and as Mrs. Hutchinson had declaired, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right (415)”.

“The Chrysanthemums”- John Steinbeck

Literary device:

Chrysanthemums seem to symbolize the love Elisa has. Though she cares for the flowers, Henry her husband, does not. The lack of understanding Henry has for Elisa shows how one sided and poor the marriage seems to be. The chrystanthemums may symbolize how hard Elisa is working to keep the marriage together. When the traveling salesman shows up, all interest goes toward Elisa's flowers, and someone finally has interest in her. The salesman then mentioned how he wanted Elisa's flowers, in which she easily gave away. The use of chrysanthemums could be a symbol of innocence she was willing to

Analisis:

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“Rules of the Game”- Amy Tan

Literary