Essays on The Lottery

Group mentality in jackson’s “the lottery” Social scientists have spent years studying issues related to human behavior.  Many researchers have noticed that group behavior seems increasingly odd as individuals conform to the group.  In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the group mentality allows for the stunning acceptance of senseless violence that the story describes.             The…

Gains and Losses in “The Lottery” and “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings”             In “The Lottery,” by holding the lottery every year, the community gains a sense of security. They are convinced that the lottery will keep them safe. Old Man Warner says, “Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back…

            Shirley Jackson’s story “The lottery” is a short story which aroused a controversy and was greatly criticized in 1948 due to its publication. The author uses irony and aspects of comedy to expose the underlying hypocrisy, evil and weakness of human beings. The lottery is a traditional yearly event where one person in town…

The Color Black and Symbolism in “The Lottery” People are influenced by a variety of different sources – their parents, their friends, and their communities. While everyone must learn to make their own decisions, they often follow the beliefs of the people around them. Teenagers register to vote as a “Democrat” merely because their parents…

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is about Symbolism “The Lottery,” a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about an inhumane and horrific tradition that a community celebrates every year between 10 a. m. and noon on June 27, a sunny day, in a New England village (“Cummings Study Guide”). Not only is…

Pointless Violence Under a Veil of Tradition in “The Lottery”: A Discovery Via the Tools of Irony and Symbolism Within the Framework of Formalism The approach to literary criticism known as Formalism focuses on the literary text itself as the source for meaning, and deems the text as the only context a critic should turn…

Symbolism in The Lottery Symbolism can help bring out true meaning in a story. It can describe information that may be hidden from the reader in the story. In The Lottery, the black box used to draw paper for the lottery is what best symbolizes the meaning of the story. The black box is the…

Literary Analysis of The Necklace and The Lottery             Guy de Maupassant’s The Necklace and Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery both reveal different thematic elements to establish a particular theme which is apparent in the time of their writing. Themes which are related to moral and social issues are illustrated by means of different literary elements…

The lottery INTRODUCTION             Who would ever imagine that a community of supposedly civilized people would take time out once a year to draw lots on who they should hit with stones?   The story of “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, is a metaphorical reference to a hyperbolical fiction.  Symbolisms triggered the theme of the…

“The Lottery” may be somewhat deceiving from it’s title and can lead you in the wrong direction if you are not careful to notice the foreshadowing signs that is typical in Shirley Jackson’s stories. In “The Lottery” she gives two signs that are hidden deep into words that you, the reader, have to break up….