The Lottery Symbolism
Motifs are an important element to develop themes in stories. The magic behind motifs is that depending on how the author uses it they can help develop different themes in different ways. As seen in “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor, where three different authors use death that can be interpreted to develop different themes. In “The Cask of Amontillado” the theme revenge can be perceived with Montresor’s wishes to make Fortunato pay for insulting him. Montresor, an unreliable narrator, kills his rival (Fortunato) without thinking about it twice. Although, he does give Fortunato a chance to save himself by asking if he wishes to go back, when
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At the beginning the reader might not understand what type of lottery it is and it might even be seen as a positive thing that this specific town has not given up on their traditions. However, as the story develops we notice this lottery is not like usual lotteries. Finally, when Tessie starts being stoned to death we understand how critical is following traditions and how sometimes traditions can blind people on doing things like murdering and believing it’s not big deal. Lastly, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the theme of Good vs. Evil can be acknowledged. This fight between Good and Evil can be decided at the end when Evil wins with the act of the Misfit, who kills the grandmother. Once again, the motif of death helps the author establish that, in fact, Evil won over this character. All in all, by comparing how “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor uses death as a motif to develop different themes we can understand that the same motif can be used in different stories to develop different themes, but the author has the power to give it the touches he wishes in order to accurately express the idea he/she wants. It is important however to understand that it does not matter what theme an author wishes to develop, with motifs as tragic as death and murder, it is easy to understand what it’s being conveyed. Proving, that in fact, death is a powerful
At the beginning the reader might not understand what type of lottery it is and it might even be seen as a positive thing that this specific town has not given up on their traditions. However, as the story develops we notice this lottery is not like usual lotteries. Finally, when Tessie starts being stoned to death we understand how critical is following traditions and how sometimes traditions can blind people on doing things like murdering and believing it’s not big deal. Lastly, in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” the theme of Good vs. Evil can be acknowledged. This fight between Good and Evil can be decided at the end when Evil wins with the act of the Misfit, who kills the grandmother. Once again, the motif of death helps the author establish that, in fact, Evil won over this character. All in all, by comparing how “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor uses death as a motif to develop different themes we can understand that the same motif can be used in different stories to develop different themes, but the author has the power to give it the touches he wishes in order to accurately express the idea he/she wants. It is important however to understand that it does not matter what theme an author wishes to develop, with motifs as tragic as death and murder, it is easy to understand what it’s being conveyed. Proving, that in fact, death is a powerful