Essay about The lottery

Submitted By Kylondc
Words: 594
Pages: 3
Open Document
Kylon Smith
English Comp I
Mwf 9:35-11:3
The Lottery

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is based of a community in what is presumed 1940 America. Where a town comes to a mandatory meeting, to pick a folded piece of paper out of a black box held by the deputy of the town along with the mayor. Many papers are blank, except one that has a black dot cirlced in the center. This is what the towns folk are rounded up for.

Tessie Hutchinson is the main protagnist of the short story, event thought it is viewed by many other’s in the crowd. Tessie Joins the crowd late, in high spirits. Presumed to be in her late 30’s the pulling of lottery is nothing new to her, she gives hugs, even makes quirky remarkes to the mayor. Shirley jackson made this clear so that the reader understands that whats about to transfold is normal, how easily the community continues something that is being questioned by the order generation. Each family in the community is represented by the male of the house. Each male walks towards the box pulling out a folded piece of paper. All while doing so rumors spread across the crowd. The younger members of the community started asking questions, Why do they still do the lottery?.Many other towns already stopped the continuation of the of the pulling. Old Man Warner replied that there all just a bunch of crazy fools, Listening ot the young was a foolish idea. They always had the lottery every since he was a child, if they didn’t want ot have such things they could go back to there caves. This shows that change is around the corner but the younger generations would have to wait till the older to die.

Once all of the men picked there papers, Mr. summers asks them to open them. When Bill;Tessies husband opens the winning lottery ticket her happy go mood instantly dissapears. She starts begging the crowd for a redo, this is the first time the reader starts to get a glimpse on what the lottery is all bad. She that bill was rushed, that the ticket was not the one he was trying to grab. Her please are ignored. Mr. Summers asks bill to place the paper back in the box along with 4 others
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about The lottery

The Lottery

Funk 1 David Funk Professor Lowe-Hill ENGL 1220 Wednesday, May 29th, 2013 The Lottery The story “The Lottery” takes place in a homely village that hosts their own annual lottery, that they consider a “celebration”. It tells us that other villages have a much longer lottery due to the number of villagers present, but in this specific village there’re only about three hundred villagers left. The story is very deceiving considering the attitudes of most villagers. But still…

Words 1031 - Pages 5

Importance Of The Lottery

and dependency on the game itself. The lottery also being a game of chance has people relying on it for the possible luck of winning and hope of getting money. The lottery is not an ethical or effective way to raise revenues for education because it allows people to gamble, it targets those in challenging situations, and the money made from it rarely ends up going to things like educational funding and the profits actually given aren’t substantial. The lottery gives people more opportunities and ways…

Words 770 - Pages 4

Archetypes In The Lottery

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson uses different characters who stand as symbols of society's archetypes providing a dark glimpse into human's true nature. The pivotal characters that stand as archetypes are the unnamed crowd who represent the mob mentality that defines society, Bill Hutchison who fails to protect his wife revealing his focus on protecting his own life , and Mr. Summers who oversees the "lottery" that condemns a member of the community to death by stoning. The villagers all assemble…

Words 581 - Pages 3

Lottery: The Lottery and Short Story Essay

THE LOTTERY The lottery is a story by Shirley Jackson where on June 27th of every year there is an activity called the lottery. In which names are chosen from a black box. Once you recieve a piece of paper you wait till evryone on the list is called. After all names are called you open it up, if you have a black dot on your paper, you are chosen to paticipate in the lottery. You stand in the middle of all citizens, once evryone is ready and has a rock in there hand. Unfortunately you get stoned…

Words 619 - Pages 3

Lottery: The Lottery and Shirley Jackson Essay

Fiction Essay A Towns Tradition: “The Lottery” In Shirley Jackson’s short story “ The Lottery”, the tradition starts off even before the birth of Old Man Warner, who has now been doing the lottery for seventy seven years. This story is shown in third person and instead of the narrator telling us the characters thoughts and feelings, the narrator chooses to show through the lottery opening up and changing its route. Through the course of the years there had been some customs that have been dropped…

Words 521 - Pages 3

The Lottery Essay

in “The Lottery” The setting in a story can be described as the physical and emotional atmosphere in which a story takes place. Physical setting is made up of factors such as time and place. Emotional setting, on the other hand, entails the mood of the story, which can include the sense of loneliness or serenity. Short stories use setting to set the tone of the text during which the story takes place and can even affect a character’s personality. In the short story, “The Lottery” written…

Words 440 - Pages 2

Essay on The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” one of the main characters is Mr. Summers. “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers.” Summers might be the busy body of the village, but he is not the protagonist of the story. Because he represents the status quo situation in the village, his presence in the story is one of the most significant symbols of “The Lottery.” Summers represents blind adherence to ritual, as he is in charge…

Words 647 - Pages 3

The Lottery Essay

The black box in this story is a symbol of tradition and the villager’s loyalty towards the lottery. When it comes to tradition it is easy to forget the significance, especially when a tradition is very old like the lottery. Shirley Jackson continuously shows the age of this tradition through the box throughout the story by showing the fragileness of the box. Mr. summers had to ‘carry the black wooden box’ and had it ‘resting on the stool’ showing the tiredness of this tradition. They even talked…

Words 428 - Pages 2

Sacrifice In The Lottery

If there are no farmers to tend the crops in the end, then the lottery to boost the harvest season is worthless. In a small village on a clear and sunny day, an unusual draw is held: one in which nobody wants to win. The story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is written about sacrificing a member of the village to receive a heavy harvest that season. It is said that “human sacrifice is not just… designed to appease the gods… or bring luck and prosperity” (Parker-Pearson, 2011, p. 4, P. 6). The article…

Words 610 - Pages 3

Sacrifice The Lottery

Literary Analysis “Sacrifice is a state of mind in which our thoughts turn towards heaven and our ancestors for something in return,”-Kungi. The Lottery is a short story about how a town has a lottery. Each person takes a sheet of paper out of a black box if you get the black dot you're going to be sacrificed because they think they think they will get better crops if they sacrifice a person. In the story The Hunger Games, about how because of what district 13 did, (trying to overthrow the Capital)…

Words 659 - Pages 3