Preview

The Lottery Essay

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
936 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Lottery Essay
1. Social psychologists observe that every group develops its own outcast or misfit, who is blamed for all sorts of group malfunctions and woes. Have you observed this dynamic in your own work, school, church, or family groups?

Yes this dynamic appears in some schools where a child or any student for that matter is bullied or singled out. Some peoples’ working conditions could possibly have a group malfunction as in co-workers can be racist to one another.

2. We are told a lot about the lottery, but not its exact purpose. Do the townspeople know? Is this omission significant? Intentional?
No, the townspeople do not know the lottery’s exact purpose. This omission is not significant because it seems there is no point in the lottery and why these people are operating such horrid acts. It is more intentional; the townspeople are playing it safe thinking they are keeping a tradition, yet no one seems brave enough to ask why? 3. Why is much of the history of the lottery and the black box uncertain and vague? Why does Mr. Summers have to ask a question that he and everybody else already know the answer to?

Much of the history of the lottery and the black box are vague and uncertain because it has been an ‘old’ tradition amongst these three hundred townspeople. The black box that was being used was made of some pieces from the original black box that had been lost long ago when the first people settled down to make a village (134). Mr. Summers asks already known questions because he is trying to re-assure the townspeople, and or trying to keep up with what is supposed to be said in the same lottery tradition as before.

4. The box used in the lottery is mentioned almost thirty times in the story-more than ten times in the phrase the black box. Why does the author emphasize this object and its color so strongly?

The author emphasizes the black box so much because it is meant to be a mystery or surprise, like any box appears to people. The fact

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The author, Jackson uses symbols to explain the true meaning behind the lottery; she uses names and objects to explain the story. The black box symbolizes death and the tradition itself, even though the box is deteriorated the people from the village refuse to replace it, just like the tradition, it is antique and it doesn’t make much sense but people is willing to follow it blindly. The names from the people also hold an important meaning. Jackson uses symbolic names to indicate what type of lottery is being…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First, the condition of the black box emulates how the lottery is slowly becoming outdated and falling apart. The town obviously doesn’t care about the true tradition of the lottery seeing as how the original box that was used had been lost. The black box is described is described as becoming “shabbier each year”, and that…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1.The dark ending was not a typically lottery but throughout the story methods of foreshadowing was used by the author, Shirley Jackson. Characters throughout the story fear the lottery nervously but the dark suspicions are confirmed when “Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!"”(Jackson 5). Tessie instead of being excited for winning the lottery is extremely against winning which confirms that the lottery is nothing to be excited about. Jackson begins the story picturing the town as a the children were playing around as if nothing horrible was about to happen.…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is a story about a small rural village that holds its annual lottery. Families in the village participate and the lottery starts by one representative from each family pulling a piece of paper from the black box the one who gets the paper with the black spot is stoned to death as per tradition of the lottery. This world that is created by Shirley Jackson in “The Lottery” is a dystopia.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    1. The “black box” was the specific equipment used for the lottery that had lost…

    • 1610 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lottery take places annually in June and everyone in the town participates, but no one wants to win. Old Man Warner believe it should continue because he has done it for many years and is terrified of the idea of change. Tessie Hutchinson never questioned the lottery and was even excited until she became a victim of it. In this short story, Jackson depicts what it is like to do things without questioning the reason behind it. The lottery and the black box represents the past that everyone is struggling to move on…

    • 294 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Through her ability to display the grim reality of a small idealized town, Shirley Jackson unmasks the evil of tradition in “The Lottery.” She repeats that mindless rituals are unacceptable practices. Jackson begins her writing with, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (715). This first sentence gives us clues that there is not an extreme amount of emotion; it hints that the style reflects the attitudes of the villagers. The townspeople picture the lottery as normal and have no more emotion towards it than they do the flowers or the warm sunny day. The children begin collecting rocks as they are playing, and the adults…

    • 201 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Omission In Ariel's House

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The omission is significant and intentional. The purpose of the lottery is vague because it represents the old traditions that people hang on to, despite being meaningless. The lack of history emphasizes the pointlessness and brutality of the ritual. The townspeople do not appear to know the purpose of the ritual, but they participate dutifully because it is a tradition.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The next black symbol mentioned in “The Lottery” is the famed black box. This item is mentioned the most of any black item in the entire story, thus enhancing its importance. This box is a replacement of the original box that was lost many years ago. However, even the box that they now use is older than anyone in the village. Although the box is practically falling apart, Mr. Summers cannot gather support to have a new one made because the members of the town were afraid to tamper with tradition. Once again these poor people are blindly following the ways of the generations…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the story, the town’s people have no complete understanding of the origin of lottery. They were not aware how the lottery was run compared to recent lotteries. This proves that the villager’s blind faith in the lottery portrays the dangers of fervor; not challenging to change or remove unethical traditions. During the story, some of the town’s people talk about how other towns are abolishing the lottery process. However, still no one challenges the lottery process because it may result in an individual being exiled from the town. It is stated clearly in the text that, “every year, after the lottery Mr. Summers began talking about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade without anything being done”. A black box older than Old…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Symbolism in the Lottery

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson uses symbolism in “The Lottery” to show the importance of remaining faithful to tradition and the unknown consequences that seem to occur when citizens lose touch with their village’s rituals. The idea of a yearly lottery in this small village is a very important ritual that has been passed down for such a long time, so long that nobody knows why it was started or why it is necessary to keep following through with it. The old black box that is used in the lottery to determine one’s fate is the most significant symbol in this story. Nobody wants to use a newer box because they feel it is the only thing that ties back to the origin of the lottery. They have only changed the use of wood chips to pieces of paper.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Overall Shirley Jackson discusses the movement of the setting, the unusual foreshadowing, and the outermost symbolism in "The Lottery" to give an overall point of view of the story.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Read the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Then, reread the lines indicated with each question below. Answer each question, citing text evidence.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Overall, Shirley Jackson describes the black box as “shabby and old” (264). However, the black box and the title are important to notice as a symbol to represent the central message of “The Lottery.” At the beginning of the story, Shirley represents Mrs. Hutchison as a normal person. Then, the author achieves a successful, well-written story of her being stoned to death by an unlucky choice of a black box. Therefore, it is foremost to include symbolism in short stories to understand the full meaning of…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, yet still, leaves a mark on any person who gets their hands on it today. The story starts out by setting an enjoyable atmosphere at the beginning of summer. The community gathers and the story almost fulfills the reader’s idea of a perfect town activity. However, the story has a sharp twist at the end that leaves the reader in shock. Jackson wrote the story to leave an impact and whom how quickly human nature can change. Shirley Jackson shows the duality of human nature in the characters of the children, Tessie Hutchinson, and Mr. Summers.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics