The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay

The story “The Most Dangerous Game” was written by Richard Connell. The two main characters were Sanger Rainsford and General Zaroff. The characters were faced with many dilemmas that they had different ideas of the correct thing to do. Although the characters had many thoughts alike they also had very different morals. They had similarities and many differences.

“The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it” (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual “Lottery”. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. “I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the

In both stories the theme is really obvious but they both have some similar parts of theme and they both have some parts that are different. In The Most Dangerous Game the theme is so cliche because it is Hunters Vs. The Hunted. In the beginning of the story Zaroff and Rainsford are as equals and they both are big-game hunters. In the Hunters In The Snow the theme revolves around Deception because there are three main characters in the Hunters in the Snow and they go on a hunting trip and before they can deceive anyone they would have to fool themselves before they could do so. In both stories they are already so similar because they both involve murder and hunting. In The Most Dangerous Game Zaroff was hunting people who came to Ship Trap Island and hunted them and was committing murder and in The Hunters in the Snow Tub shot Kenny and at the end of the story they took the wrong turn to the hospital and Frank and Tub let Kenny die. Frank and Tub would be suspects of Kenny’s murder.

Death is the final stage of an organism’s life. Death can come at anytime and by any means, whether it be severe injury or natural causes. However, death is always an inevitability that comes to every living being on Earth, and is an unavoidable fate. “The Masque of The Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson both present these realities of death to the reader, but by different messages and occasionally methods. Poe focuses on the aspect of time, while Jackson moulds death around luck.

I. There happen to be different settings in both of the short stories but both of the settings adapt well with their plots.

7. Evaluate the statement: "If there are sacrifices to be made for human progress, it is not essential to hold to the principle that those to be sacrificed must make the decision themselves?"

Nevertheless, both outcomes would lead to death. His final decision was to play the game and attempt to win instead of taking the easy way out. Another similar characteristic is how the antagonists have the advantage of having people to fight with them. “One almost did win. I eventually had to use the dogs” (Connell 14).

“The Lottery by Shirley” Jackson and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell shed light upon the human nature and its indifference to suffering until they become the suffer. The stories tell realistically what happens when a society decides to become the jury and judge on the value of human life. Both stories have haunting comparisons that deal with immorality. They give similarities for what is considered acceptable and everyday life in the characters society. The authors use vivid and detailed points of view to give the stories reality roots. These two stories are more unique with the differences being about man versus man in the survival for human life and the other a woman against her whole village’s belief. The Most Dangerous Game has the character Rainsford speaking about the animals he hunts. The dreary feel of the crew and the murk of the night add suspense to what is held beyond the fog. The conversation between Rainsford and The General Zaroff is a precursor for an intriguing climax. “The Lottery” begins its story with a simple town setting and villagers coming together for a lottery. It picks up momentum once you realize what is actually at stake in this lottery. The lottery consists of a ritualistic killing to preserve fruitfulness of the village. Every year there is the ritual of the choosing and the stoning

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is about a town of 300 people who have an annual lottery to decide who is stoned to death (stones thrown at them until they die). The purpose of the lottery is for good luck with the harvest and crops. The townspeople only remember the purpose and tidbits of the traditional lottery. Because it is a long-standing tradition, the town is too afraid to change anything or give up the lottery entirely.

In the novel Battle Royale, author Koushun Takami attempts to highlight two conflicting human impulses; the desire to stay true to moral, and ethical obligations, but also the animalistic desire to survive. The actions of the characters in Battle Royale illustrates the conflict

Do you know anyone who has won the lottery? In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the winner of this small American town’s lottery didn’t win much. The deep, dark theme of this story is all about death of a lottery. This gothic short story provides excellent examples of foreshadowing, suspense, and conflict.

Another commonality they share is that they are both timeless stories and they do not date themselves heavily with pop culture references the exception of this some now out-of date language that is not used any more. Both use deeper meanings and themes that stand the test of time, including the morality of hunting and the mind of a murderer. These two idea’s will remain intriguing for years to come.

“The Lottery,” Jackson’s most famous work, is often called a gothic horror tale. “The Lottery” is considered a part of the gothic genre because of the feeling of suspense as well as horror it brings to the reader, who may not fully understand the purpose of the lottery until the end (Wilson 144). “The Lottery developed in the story is very horrific because when we here about a Lottery we think about achieve something good but, in the story achieving a lottery is getting stoned to death by your own townspeople. Until the end author hide real meaning of the lottery. “The narrative technique for “The Lottery” is detached and objective, meaning the story is told without excessive emotionalism or description, which helps to impart the ordinariness of the barbaric act of the lottery” (143). “It is also ironic that the events of the story are related in a matter–of-fact and objective way since the story as a whole seeks to elicit profound emotions and question morality” (144). Emphasis is placed on the brutality of the lottery by not giving a specific time and place to the story. Critics often see the irony of the story. It is ironic that the story takes place

In “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly average town meeting turns sinister. In the beginning, the townspeople are gathering in the square of their village on a beautiful, clear and sunny day, which later can be seen as ironic. The characters carry out normal small talk and discussion as they wait for the traditional lottery to begin. At this point, most readers have no clue that an atrocious event will soon be taking place. As the story moves forward, a strong sense of traditionalism ripples throughout the pages and in the characters. The lucky winner of the town’s annual lottery, to the reader’s shock and horror, receives stones being pelted at them until their untimely death. Jackson uses symbols such as the setting and the black box to display the general theme of the short story and force the reader to question traditions.

With a dramatic shift from a seemingly innocent atmosphere to a bleak turn of events, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” manages to capture her readers’ attention in a virulent manner. Although they are often criticized, she is known for her works in the gothic horror genre, particularly “The Lottery”. This story depicts a small town that holds an annual “lottery” in which one unlucky person is randomly selected to be stoned to death in order to ensure a bountiful corn harvest. Since she suffered many psychological battles, Shirley Jackson creates such dark stories criticizing humanity’s violent presence to portray the era of life she faced. World War II had already ended by the time “The Lottery” was published and there is an underlying criticism