It wasn’t fair (8)”. When it was Tessie’s families turn to draw from the black box to see which member of the Hutchinson family was going to be sacrificed, knowing that once married her daughter could not draw with her family; she tried to convince Mr. Summers to include her married daughter to lessen her chances of being chosen. “There’s Don and Eva, Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. Make them take their chance. Daughters draw with their Husbands’ families, Tessie, you know that as well as anyone else (8).” The tradition of the lottery was held so strong on the town’s members, even Tessie’s own
Kenley Duke D.E. English Professor Walker October 9th 2012 Analyzing Literature: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson Tradition, defined my Webster’s Dictionary, is an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior. Not once does it say that tradition is meant to have good intentions. Such is the case in the “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. The villagers in this town gather annually to conduct what they refer to as “the lottery.” This gruesome event selects one of the town members to meet their untimely death by the mid-evil process of stoning.
Hutchinson says to her husband, “Get up there, Bill”(391). Once all of the families had drawn, and the lottery “winners” were chosen, the atmosphere of support completely changes. Mrs. Hutchinson claims that Mr. Hutchinson was rushed, and that it was not fair. She then tries to make her daughters, who are now married and who enter the lottery with their husbands, draw with the Hutchinson family. Instead of having close family ties as before, Mrs. Hutchinson now tries to better her odds by endangering her own daughters.
The unfortunate winner of the lottery. Tessie complains at the end of the story that the lottery is not fair, however her words fall on deaf ears as the first stone is cast into her head and suddenly the town was "upon her’. Tessie Hutchinson is not meant to be portrayed as a metaphor, but she does represent the victim of the story. Tessie was chosen for a brutal act at random. Tessie’s attitude before and after she is selected as the winner of the lottery.
Alex then reveals she's in love with Dean, so is transformed back. Dean is back and starts calling Alex his girlfriend. Tired of lying to her best friend, she reveals magic to Harper by taking her into space on her birthday. Dean moves away, but Alex tries to continue dating him in his dreams with the use of magic. When he comes to see her, they go out on a date but she realizes they've drifted apart and aren't the same so breaks up with him, who has no reaction.
In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, people robotically follow a tradition simply because it has always been done. This reflects a blind conformity. Every June the lottery takes place; the prize for winning is death. The villagers believe sacrificing one of their own will ensure a good harvest. We get our sense of possible rebellion when Mr. Adams says: “over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.” Mrs. Adams adds that some villages have already given it up.
“The Lottery” Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” portrays a small town in which the citizens gather for a yearly lottery. Unlike a typical lottery, this is one you would not want to win. The lottery in this story is used for public stoning contrary to the first thing that comes to the readers mind when they think of winning the lottery; a big sum of money. This work of fiction demonstrates conformity and rebellion, while suggesting that the lottery is a ritualistic ceremony. “The Lottery” focuses around a village on their annual lottery.
The time period the event occurs in is not stated either, signifying that such cruel acts can take place at any time. The author uses symbolism throughout the story but the three most prominent uses of symbolism can be seen in the lottery, the black box used to choose the winner, and the most predominant use of symbolism, the characters actions and names. The lottery is symbolic of the corrupt nature of humans regarding pointless and inhumane traditions. It expresses the evil behind traditions and man’s unrelenting refusal to accept change. The lottery occurs on a warm summer day in a traditional small town in the same town square where the community gathers for all events.
Bear Grylls once said “A man's pride can be his downfall, and he needs to learn when to turn to others for support and guidance". In The Lottery, the villagers have a type of lottery that results in the death of a villager every time this lottery is held, and the villagers are too proud of this tradition to actually cease these meaningless deaths. Moreover, in The Necklace, the main character, Madame Mathilde, borrows what she thinks is a very expensive necklace from her friend and Mathilde’s vanity doesn’t allow her to actually admit that she loses it and she ends up wasting a decade of her life paying off debts. These two short stories support Grylls’ words by showing how pride or vanity has damaging effects for the characters in the stories, In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant, the lottery box and the pearl necklace are symbols of human pride or vanity and show the inevitable downfall that comes
As Mr. Adams puts in his facts about how the village in the north was talking about giving up the lottery, Old Man Warner replies, “pack of crazy fools, listening to the young folks, nothings good enough for them. Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to live in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while” (143). The Hutchinson family shows the faults humans have, such as being a coward and showing indifference. Ms. Hutchinson shows evil and how a mother can risk her own child’s safety and life since she was willing to demand her married daughter to draw to improve her chances of survival. Shirley Jackson shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values.