The Lottery Essay - 738 Words

In â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson and the historical event of blacklisting Americans during the 1950s, the authors convey that loyalty causes us to turn against others around you through symbols. In â€Å"The Lottery†, loyalty to tradition caused a society to turn on one another. â€Å"The Lottery† was an annual tradition where each head of household (the dominant male in each home) picked a slip of paper. If the piece selected had a black dot on it, you had to go through the selection process again, but this time each individual member of your family had to choose a slip out of the box. Whoever chose the black dot out of there family had won the Lottery, and would be sacrificed for a good corn season. On the seventy-seventh lottery, the†¦show more content†¦Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass was working in New Mexico on an atomic bomb. Because the Rosenbergs were communists, and their relationship with Greenglass, they were accused of passi ng information regarding the bomb to the Soviet Union, when they really did nothing wrong. Despite their desperate pleas of innocence, â€Å"President Dwight D. Eisenhower twice rejected pleas for clemency. The Rosenbergs were executed on June 19, 1953† (Reeves). The presidents allegiance is a symbol because it represents American ideas. To Eisenhower and the House of Un-American Activities Committee, communism was a threat to what the government already was. Communists were thought to support Russia, and they could not have those ideas spread around America. Eisenhower cared more about what America stood for rather than his own innocent citizens. The House of Un-American Activities Committee and Eisenhower’s loyalty to what they wanted the image and ideas of America to be was greater than their own citizens, making the decision to execute the Rosenbergs and easy one. The Rosenbergs did not do anything wrong, but in Eisenhower’s mind, just like Bill Hutchinsonâ €™s mind in â€Å"The Lottery†, they dismissed what the victims were saying and executed them. The innocent victims of both events had ideas that were never shared because people of higher authority refused to listen to them, and they both suffered from them. The higher power stuck with the traditions andShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery Essay870 Words   |  4 Pageshas a passion for something, there is an uncontrollable emotion about it. Everyone in the world is different, if it was not that way, the world would not go around. Someone may have a passion for something that another person can not stand. In â€Å"The Lottery,† there was a negative passion for people getting stoned. The emotions of others that did not get stoned were horrific for the one getting stoned to death. The father in â€Å"Without Title,† had a huge passion for hunting buffalo. The only problem wasRead More The Lottery Essay811 Words   |  4 Pagesword lottery, you probably think of winn ing a large sum of money before being stoned to death. quot; The Lotteryquot; by Shirley Jackson brings this horrible idea to life. While the overall mood of the story depicts a typical day in a small rural town, through great use of imagery and irony, one is set up for an unusual ending. Shirley Jackson uses the element of surprise. The way of the story ends is unlike anyone could predict. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The main object of The Lottery is theRead MoreThe Lottery Essay617 Words   |  3 PagesJacksons most famous short story, quot;The Lotteryquot;. Her insights and observations about man and society are disturbing; and in the case of quot;The Lottery,quot; they are shocking. quot;The themes themselves are not new, evil cloaked in seeming good, prejudice and hypocrisy, loneliness and frustration, psychological studies of minds that have slipped the bonds of realityquot; (Friedman). Literary critic, Elizabeth Janeway wrote that, quot; The Lottery makes its effect without having to stateRead MoreThe Lottery Essay705 Words   |  3 Pagesnames to a number of her characters. Can you explain the possible allusions or symbolism of some of these? Delacroix Graves Summers Bentham Hutchinson Warner Martin 5. Graves- what has to be dug after the lottery is over with Summers- The time of the year that the lottery is drawn Martin- Possibly a way to say martyr or another word for a scapegoat 6. Find at least three examples of descriptive language. 6.Three examples of descriptive language in the story are when they are describingRead More The Lottery Essay946 Words   |  4 Pages The Message Sent in â€Å"The Lottery† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The shock value of Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† is not only widely known, but also widely felt. Her writing style effectively allows the reader to pass a judgment on themselves and the society in which they live. In â€Å"The Lottery† Jackson is making a comparison to human nature. It is prominent in all human civilizations to take a chance as a source of entertainment and as this chance is taken, something is both won and lost. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;AsRead MoreThe Lottery Essay1363 Words   |  6 Pagessignificant role in how people live their day to day lives. In Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery† the people that lived in the town follow a tradition every year. Its easy to understand why Shirley Jackson’s Lottery caused controversy when it was published shortly after World War II in 1948. The Lottery has been dramatized, televised and turned into a ballet. It is taught in high schools and colleges. (Whittier). The Lottery held many questions about traditions that have become questionable. At the beginningRead MoreThe Lottery Essay714 Words   |  3 Pagesin â€Å"The Lottery†, â€Å"The Fun They Had†, and also â€Å"Eye of the Beholder.† I feel that in â€Å"The Lottery†, Tessie was right for arguing against winning the yearly tradition of the lottery. Margie was right for feeling that the past schools were better in â€Å"The Fun They Had†, and Janet was right for contrasting herself from the others in â€Å"Eye of the Beholder.† Individuals may distinguish their interpretations on distinct feelings or statements. In â€Å"The Lottery†, a yearly tradition of a lottery takes placeRead MoreThe Lottery Essay938 Words   |  4 Pagesthe 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 andRead MoreEssay on The Lottery777 Words   |  4 Pages Shirley Jackson’s insights and observations about man and society are reflected in her famous short story quot;The Lotteryquot;. Many of her readers have found this story shocking and disturbing. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first, the shocking reality of human’s tendency to select a scapegoat and second, society as a victim of tradition and ritual. Throughout history we have witnessed and participated in many events, where, in time of turmoil and hardship, society hasRead MoreThe Lottery Essay1133 Words   |  5 Pagesbeginning of Shirley Jackson’s short story â€Å"The Lottery,† the village congregates in the square on the â€Å"clear and sunny† (247) midsummer day of June 27th. The children are out of school, the flowers are blooming, and the grass is a vibrant green. Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story â€Å"The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,† begins on â€Å"the Festival of Summer,† (242) which includes processions, dancing, singing, bells, and horses. Although the village in â€Å"The Lottery† and the city of Omelas appear pleasant and