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Analysis of The Lottery

            When developing an inspiration for a story, a writer must put many ideas into the process. There are numerous items that when combined create an interesting and pleasurable story. There are many characteristics that a story must encompass to be enjoyable. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns a small town's annual lottery drawing and the grim circumstances that ensue. In ths short but disturbingly profound piece of work Shirley Jackson communicates to the reader the theme of the story along with its implications concerning traditions.
             In The Lottery, tradition plays a key role in keeping one town happy and peaceful. The lottery occurs every year on June 27. Although the lottery may be a little morally unjust, it is still a tradition and traditions are hard to break. The lottery for the town is the backbone of the community. The lottery for the town brings a day of conversation and happiness. The boys run around and gather rocks. The girls talk to one another and the women ".greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands" (268). The men gather, ". surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes" (268). The lottery is used to bring people together and is viewed like any other fun filled town event. .
             In the beginning of the story Jackson paints a picture of a normal village getting ready to celebrate a joyous occasion. She goes further by setting the time of the event. .
             The people of the village began to gather in the square. so it can begin at ten o"clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner"(268). .
             The villagers" acceptance of the lottery and its schedule is justified by tradition. Although some people will read this and say " so what? It is tradition." However, although not mentioned in the introduction this seemingly normal village is preparing for a murder.


Essays Related to Analysis of The Lottery

1. The lottery

THE LOTTERY "It isn't fair, it isn't right." ... All of these apply to "The Lottery." ... Now that we have covered the box, what about symbolic analysis of the text? ... All the original things that had gone with this lottery have now faded or changed and soon the new lottery will be changed, and even totally abolished. ... These are the things that stood out to me when I read the lottery and these are very strong assumptions and predictions that are supported by facts and text analysis. ...

  • Word Count: 785
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2. The Lottery - Literary Analysis

"The Lottery," is a very twisted story. ... The black box is the box that the names are picked out of for the lottery, every time the lottery takes place. ... Tessie is trying to make excuses for herself about why the lottery was not fair. ... Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' ... There's always been a lottery... ...

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3. The Negative Side of Winning the Lottery

A single event, such as winning the lottery, can change a person's life forever. Many people dream of winning the lottery, believing it will solve all their problems. ... A lottery winner will begin to over analysis events taking place and question the intentions of people around them. ... " Much insecurity faced by a lottery can result in the lost of their true character. The lottery winner begins to abandoned their previous hobbies, job, and interests left to be known as the person who won the lottery. ...

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4. Analysis of Setting in

A Setting Analysis of "The Lottery- Setting is, as defined by Dr. ... The first important analysis of setting in Jackson's "The Lottery- is the aspect of time in which the story takes place. ... There's always been a lottery- (Jackson 143). ... The last important role in analyzing the setting of "The Lottery- is Jackson's use of the smooth, round stones and the black lottery box. ... We know that the original lottery box had been lost some years ago. ...

  • Word Count: 1114
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5. Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The lottery was conducted by Mr. ... Graves(Lottery 1). The black box used for the lottery had been put to use even before oldest, Old Man Warner, was born (Lottery 1). ... Graves had brought (Lottery 2). ... According to critics, people would not have understood the meaning of the lottery if not for the critical analysis of the story behind it. ...

  • Word Count: 1660
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6. Analysis: "The Lottery" (essay on a short story) comp 2

"The Lottery" examines society's changing traditions, or lack thereof. ... "The Lottery" is told in chronological order, starting with the townspeople gathering in the town square and ending with the winner of the lottery's prize. ... "The Lottery" begins with a description of the setting. ... Used to be a saying about "Lottery I June, corn be heavy soon." ... They"re always been a lottery" (275). ...

  • Word Count: 1058
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7. Traditional Values

A ritual that has lost all meaning except for the corny explanation that Old Man Warner provides, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" ("The Lottery," 382). ... He states, "Nothing but trouble in that pack of young fools" ("The Lottery," 382). ... Graves" job is the postmaster and the preparer of the lottery slips. ... Furthermore, they may use the lottery's winner as an example of a person who does not make an effort to be good at his work, hence the phrase "lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" ("The Lottery, 382). ... Christoph Brietsprecher states, " the people were insecure ab...

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  • Approx Pages: 4
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8. Violence and the Grotesque in American Literature

"The Lottery" starts in "the morning of June 27th. ... Hutchinson behaves when she is declared "winner" of the lottery. ... It is precisely then that she starts questioning the fairness of the lottery and using ruses –as including her children-in-law in the drawing– in order to save herself (Breitsprecher "Analysis"). ... Maybe the most grotesque scene in "The Lottery" is when villagers are preparing to stone Mrs. ... They are empty vessels in which grownups put society's traditions and values (Breitsprecher, Analysis). ...

  • Word Count: 1990
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9. The Collected Stories of Peter Carey

The analysis of The Chance and Crabs reveals contrasting attributes in how Peter Carey depicts the two concepts of reality. ... Throughout the futuristic plot, right from the outset Carey immerses the reader into a new, foreign world by utilising words such as 'Fastalogians' and 'Genetic Lottery' (Carey, 1995 p. 3). Instantly readers are obligated to consider the question, what are/is 'Fastalogians' and the 'Genetic lottery?' ...

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