Due to General Zaroff’s savage doings for satisfaction, he seems to have lost his humanity and de-valued human life far more than the Villagers and their customs did. Both characters in these two short stories felt that what they were doing was the right thing. In “The Lottery,” they mention “that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery.”(Jackson, paragraph 32). Old Man Warner calls the north village a “pack of fools” stating that, that is not the way to go. He believes they must carry on this tradition and he never has come to realized how awful it is.
Classics explore aspects of human identity and reveal how people struggle with mistakes and pain, how people realize their own childishness, and how to learn from mistakes. This is the case in “The Secret Life of Bees” and is illustrated by the protagonist, Lily Owens’s experiences. It allows the author to share the importance of truth and accepting the realities. Kidd also explores forgiveness, racism and feminine power. Sue Monk Kidd explores how hard it can be when people do not want to accept the truth about themselves.
In relation to this theme, the “old man Warner ‘’ is a perfect symbol of tradition. Throughout the short story, he encourages the traditional values of the past, towards the new generation. This shows when he says “pack of crazy fools listening to young folks, nothing good enough for them.” This clearly indicates that he thinks the lottery is a good idea, simply because it’s a tradition. Another statement Warner uses to encourage his passion for the tradition is when he shouts, “There has always been a lottery” and states that it should continue to happen as part of the tradition. A second theme that Shirley Jackson displayed is that following the crowd can have dangerous consequences.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson provides contrasting uses of Settings in a short story, which accentuate the importance of the element in a story. One author has the ability to distract the reader, while the other author creates the structure of the story. A. Intro a. Summary of “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson b.
An Analysis of the symbolism and Irony in “The Lottery” In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson the uses symbolism is throughout the entire story which give an overall hint of the end story. The Story title by itself alone is a big symbolism along with name of the characters, the black box and stool it stood on, and the winner are all used as symbolism in the story. The character’s names symbolize their position and role in the story. All of the symbols in her short story are hint to death and religious beliefs which foreshadows the way the story end. A traditionally lottery is usually a drawing of some sorts that is associated with fun and success, and a chance to win prizes, which only good can come from it.
In this short story, tradition blindly pushes villagers to extremes and takes over their morality. The community is blinded by tradition, without realizing how it affects their morals. Mr. Summers, the oldest man in the village who is responsible for the lottery, appeals to people’s fear of ending the tradition. He tries to maintain it. The old man claims that there has always been a lottery and by giving up the lottery the villagers will get in trouble.
The author choses this strategy to conceal the fear and tension the characters experience inside. For the majority of the story, the objective narrator makes the reader believe that the lottery is just a usual one where all the villagers are excited to win it. But near the end of the story, when the winning family is announced the reader can feel through their reaction the fear and tension and realize that something is wrong with this lottery: “Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand” (392). The reader manages to realize the tragedy through actual facts and reactions and not with the help of an omniscient narrator that reveals him the character’s thoughts. This discovery has a huge impact on the reader.
Human Nature According to “the lottery” When the first time I read “ the lottery ” by Shirley Jackson I was confused and angry , thinking and asking why somebody write a story like this , but after I read it again with a broader view I can see what the writer of the story trying to say about the human nature throughout the characters of the story . Especially the great influence of tradition on human and how often people give up their own opinion and belief some time their emotion when the acting as part of a group. Tradition gain power form the fear of change even in some time the idea of change
“The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” (The Lottery, 247) Jackson begins the story describing the scenery before the lottery. The way she describes it leads the reader to believe this day is a happy day that the town folk look forward to annually. Jackson foreshadows the ending of the story in the beginning when she talks about the children collecting the smoothest and roundest stones and putting them in piles. Little do we know the stones are the “weapons” used to destroy the unlucky winner of the lottery. Ordinary folks in the society consider the lottery an ordinary ritual or tradition.
Many a man before you, in his dreams, has shared his mother’s bed. Take such things for shadows, nothing at all— Live, Oedipus, as if there’s no tomorrow!” (Meyer 1128). This quote shows both the blindness of Oedipus and Jocasta. Jocasta only believes what she wants to believe. When the oracle said that her son would kill his father and sleep with his mother she quickly abandoned her son to avoid that horrible fate and thanked the oracle for that.