“The Lottery” A well known short story that leaves an imprint on many minds with its bone-chilling plot twist is “The Lottery.” The author, Shirley Jackson, elegantly expresses her own message through the short work of literature. This essay utilizes an analysis of both the movie adaptation and the original story in order to understand the narrative of the story. From symbolism to themes, religious implications, multiple critical reviews, gender roles, and the reason as to why Shirley Jackson may want to write this short story; all will be as evidence to unfold the true meaning behind “The Lottery.” Before delving into the literary analysis, it is important to understand the basic narrative elements of “The Lottery.” This short story was written by Shirley Jackson in the mid …show more content…
The story is indeed both powerful with its symbolism and disturbing with the ending. She went on to discuss the plot twist of the story and how it made her feel, “The shift amongst the townspeople from the lighthearted conviviality to cold-blooded stoning is shocking and deeply unsettling” (Arendt). Like many people, she was also greatly surprised by the ending, a barbaric stoning that is very savage. Then she lastly discusses what society thought about “The Lottery,” she stated that “Jackson’s story ignited an instant controversy” (Arendt). Many people were confused and angry about the ending of the story, taking upon themselves to email Shirley Jackson their disdain. From people calling the story “useless” and “gruesome,” the number of people outraged by this story was a lot. Many canceled subscriptions with The New Yorker–a weekly magazine company–for being “tricked into reading perverted stories like “The Lottery”” (Arendt). The next critical review comes from Kirstie Human, posted on a website called Tostevinwrites. In the review, Human mentions the story's themes and