Winning is a Nightmare in Shirley Jacksons Short Story,...

In many peoples minds winning the lottery would be a dream come true. Its something that everyone wishes they would win; But what happens when the prize you get once you win the lottery isnt a blessing but instead a nightmare. In the short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it portrays a beautiful small village full of happy people in New England. By the use of symbolism and foreshadowing, Jackson uses the setting of the town, certain objects, and the characters in her story to indicate the true meaning behind winning the lottery. The story starts off by describing the setting of the village, The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day(242), by doing so, Jackson has given the†¦show more content†¦This reveals to the reader that the lottery isnt what it seems to be; if the prize would benefit someone in the village youd think that their might be cheering of some sort instead of nervous chatter amongst the crowd. Jackson indi rectly hints through objects such as the black box to what the lottery is actually about and the prize you get if you are the lucky winner. As the lottery is about to commence, the reader is constantly questioning the meaning behind certain traditions in the lottery such as, There were list to make up-of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family, clearly this lottery is different than present day lottery; the mystery is still left unclear at this point (244). Close to the finale of the story, Jackson introduces Tessie Hutchinson; She didnt have a worry in the world and said things such as, Clean forgot what day it was, as if she could care less about the lottery (244). The story quickly unfolds and starts to reveal as soon as Tessie is the winner of the lottery. Everything that the reader was once questioning started to make sense, Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still reme mbered to use stones(249). The foreshadowing that was used earlier in the story started to make complete sense, but only until the first stone hit Tessies head. Shirley Jackson gives winning the lottery aShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Life and Literary Works of Shirley Jackson4264 Words   |  18 PagesShirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1919 to Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. Her surroundings were comfortable and friendly. Two years after Shirley was born, her family with her newborn brother moved from San Francisco to Burlingame, California, about thirty miles away. According to her mother, Shirley began to compose verse almost as soon as she could write it (Friedman, 18). As a child, Shirley was interested in sports and literature. In 1930, a year before she attended Burlingame High SchoolRead MoreSatire/Irony in ‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson2034 Words   |  9 PagesSatire/Irony in ‘The Lottery’: The Lucky Ticket The use of Satire/Irony within literature establishes situations where the unlikelihood of the occurrence of an event will happen. Jackson’s manipulation of his story, The Lottery, provides an unexpected twist to what one may seem to be a normal subject. Northrop Frye’s The Singing School, suggests that all stories are told in either one of four ways: Comedy, Romance, Tragedy or Satire/Irony (Frye 18). The use of Irony and its conventional associationsRead MoreThe Blind Obedience in â€Å"the Lottery†2459 Words   |  10 PagesThe Blind Obedience in â€Å"The Lottery† â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson written and published in 1948, takes place on June 27th in a small town of three hundred people. Villagers gather together at around ten o’clock for one of the main rituals called ‘the lottery‘, which takes place in the central square. â€Å"The lottery was conducted as were the square dances† (Jackson 31) illustrating the timely scheduled event. It is a normal day with â€Å"the fresh warmth of a full summer day† (Jackson 1). The men