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Social Beliefs In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

531 Words3 Pages

Yanagihara (2016) identifies that there are several reasons that the reader chooses fiction, which includes invoking唤起 emotion. Emotion does not necessitate a pleasant outcome. In fact, Yanagihara (2016) identifies that one of the reasons that readers choose fiction, in order to be upset and to have their values and society’s values to be challenged. Jackson’s The Lottery (1948) challenges social beliefs by identifying that just because there is an entrenched根深蒂固 social ritual社会惯例; it does not mean that it is valid. Rather, it is the role of society to challenge it. The description of the black box is important, because it is an illustration of the society that is following this tradition without proper understanding of its purpose. Jackson …show more content…

Then the members of the family take a slip to determine the member. This is a grotesque奇异风格(absurd) story and it does not fit with the norms of society, which is entrenched with the use of Western names (i.e. stoning is still used as a punishment in some cultures, so not as shocking). The story indicates in the past that the stoning was deemed视作 to be a necessary evil, but the reason for it is lost (i.e. it predates the oldest person in society). This is supported by the fact that “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson, 1948, p. 1). A problem that arises with a necessary evil is that it loses its justification when it is no longer identified as a necessity. This is why the lottery is shocking, because the society are following through with it without determining if it is required (i.e. it has become an entrenched norm). For the outsider (i.e. the reader) there is shock and upset, because there is an unjustified death of a citizen in a grotesque manner. Nonetheless, the social commentary has to be based upon this shock to get readers to challenge social norms that are unjust, which is the very argument that is forwarded by

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The oldest man around is Old Man Warner who is 77 years old. Warner hears “young folks” in the village discussing about getting rid of the lottery and altering the tradition. He does not want to alter this tradition because he believes it truly helps crop growth. Because he is old, he has been cemented in his ways of supporting the tradition. Because Warner has no family, ha may have the msot to lose; if his name is chosen, he automatically dies.

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287 Words | 2 Pages

Thierry Paré Seyyedesaghar Najafi 604-102-MQ 23th October, 2017 The Lottery The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson and published in 1948, tells the story of a yearly celebration that consists of stoning one randomly chosen person to death. Throughout the narrative, the author portrays the dominance of men over women.

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Imagine winning the lottery! Except its not winning money, instead the prize is getting stoned by everyone in your village, including your own family. The Lottery is a short story about a small town’s tradition called the lottery. The lottery is where everyone in the village pulls a slip of paper, if someone gets the paper with a spot in it they are chosen to be the “winner.”

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People are often go with other people to help fit in and some groups are made of friends you know or people who have a similar mind set, however people groups with similar mind sets are not normally bad but some wish to do things that may harm an outsider 's person or property. In Shirley Jackson story "The Lottery" it tells of a town were the people have an annual lottery and the "winner" gets stoned to death. The story shows how you should not follow a group of people if it means going against who you are. In "The Lottery" their are two characters who are friends Mrs. Hutchinson and Mrs. Dunbar the story shows how the to are friends but the when the Mrs. Hutchinson was picked by the lottery this is how Mrs. Dunbar reacted "[Mrs.] Dunbar had

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Through out the story it is evident the danger of blindly following tradition is developed through the symbolism of the black box, the setting and atmosphere the author creates, the symbolism behind the act of the lottery and what it represents on modern day society.

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181 Words | 1 Pages

¨The Lottery¨ Writing Prompts In the short story ¨The Lottery¨ by Shirley Jackson, the author shows the theme of a duality of human nature. In the story Ms Delacroix, Mrs Hutchinson's friend, acts friendly for most of the story, but towards the end, she is the one leading the charge to kill her friend. This is the biggest example of duality of human nature, it very clear switch in personalities. Her own friend is the first to throw a big, heavy rock at Jessie(Mrs Hutchinsons).

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This is not the case for a small village in a rural setting in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” A long held tradition in which one person draws a piece of paper for their families and then the village proceeds to stone to death the one family member that draws the unlucky black dot, the lottery rarely draws questioning. In this story, Tessie Hutchinson is fine with the process until

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Shirley Jackson says "the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers but the black box on it". This is disturbing detail that makes the reader wonder what is in the mysterious box .This detail ultimately leads to the terrifying ending. The people choosing from the box is another disturbing fact. Jackson writes “Mr. Summers declared the box to be open" and adresses "There had been a ritual

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Jackson gives an impression that the shabby, black box is a personal and constant reminder to the people so that they must remain faithful to the tradition of their forefathers and never ponder on the notion that those customs might be wrong or immoral. In addition, the villagers’ behavior towards the box embodies their assessment on the entire system of the lottery. They seem to be frightened by the lottery and the box, but they are even more petrified to alter or doubt one or the other. Pressures, traditions and longstanding beliefs may potentially guide that society to an extensive ignorance and sanctioned malevolence that is directly strengthened by

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531 Words | 3 Pages

In this story murder is not justifiable because no matter your relation to the victim it was mandatory to participate in this heinous and heartless crime. In “The Lottery”, the actual lottery exemplifies a heinous crime. During this lottery, everyone has to draw names. Tessie Hutchinson is overly anxious when her family has to draw for the prize.

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163 Words | 1 Pages

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom” (Isaac Asimov). During the late 1940’s World War II, also known as the “Cold War” came to an end. The U.S faced major concerns such as the brutal reality of the war, the Holocaust and the atomic bomb. Leaving society not only clueless, but it had modeled them to become people who are willing to accept anything that does not affect them. Author Shirley Jackson who lived in a society which was facing the spread of communism and lacked women's rights, published “The Lottery”, in hope to convey several themes across to the people.

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The purpose of the lottery is to continue the old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order for a harvest. The scapegoat is chosen at random and then stoned to death by his/her companions. Although “The Lottery” reflects an event from the past, Jackson shows that many of the actions of the town resemble the tribulations that ensue in today’s society. To begin with, like the villagers in the story, our society also partakes in valuing tradition.

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Human nature can be characterized as being positive, capable of altruism and goodness which sets humankind apart from savage animals; however, human nature possesses a dark side, namely cruelty, and it is capable of barbarism like any beast. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, cruelty is part of human nature, and the participants of the lottery demonstrate human cruelty through violence towards one another; markedly, by exhibiting desensitization to violence and the acceptance of violence resulting in internal dysfunction which is perpetuated yearly. Participants of the lottery belong to a close-knit community, and every year the community hosts an enigmatic lottery draw. The conclusion of the lottery draw is only mysterious until the outcome

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611 Words | 3 Pages

In life people do despicable things for all sorts of reasons, but one of the reasons people do awful things is because of the pressure they get from either culture, society or from their peers. “The Lottery” shows how people can sometimes do negative things because that’s just how it’s been done. In “The lottery” it talks about how once a year one unlucky winner of their lottery would be stoned to death. Shirley Jackson the author of “The lottery” projects a vision that includes both explicit and implicit viewpoints even if it doesn’t match reality because, she is trying to prove the fact that people can do uncivilized things because of society, culture and their peers.

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502 Words | 3 Pages

An example of characterization used by Jackson to help communicate the theme is when Mr. Summers is presenting the black box to the villagers. He suggests, “making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.” His claim of stating an obvious but well thought response shows how Jackson put Mr.Summers as an innocent man trying to convey his idea that the tradition should be gone. Since, the general populace did not want the tradition to change, it would explain the events that further led to a malicious murdering.

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