Very Normal Activity For The Community example essay topic

The story of "The Lottery", written by Shirley Jackson is very different in terms of the ways you and me may see the lottery today. The lottery today is looked at as fun, entertaining and almost as a type of recreation for many Americans, but not in this short story. The lottery in this story is the total opposite of the way we view it today. It does not deal with entertainment but it deals with your life literally, almost as if they are playing Russian rul let. But this all seems like a normal everyday occurrence to this small farming community that seems to be just like any typical farming community except for the fact that each harvest moon someone in the town is sacrificed.

Shirley Jackson's approach to writing this story was more than just reading the words and meeting the characters. Throughout the story Jackson does a great job of giving a deeper meaning of just about everything in this story. She portrays a lot of symbolism and ironic meanings in the story through the technique she uses to put together the setting of the story all the way down to the characters' names and actions. What Jackson wants the audience to do is make sure the reader examines deeper than just the words on the pages almost as if the audience had to be very analytical. She also did not give away the end of the story, she lets you figure it out which makes the title very ironic and suspenseful. Jackson does a great job at dropping in clues to the audience also, sort of a sense of foreshadowing that something isn't right in this community even though it seems like your normal everyday farming community.

Shirley's whole point in writing in this style ties in very well with the overall meaning or theme of the story. The way Jackson decides to arrange the setting and mood in this story is very ironic and also symbolic in many ways. Jackson starts off the story by giving a description of what she wants the audience to think of this small community. Jackson almost paints a picture of what she wants you to see. It was the start of summer everyone seems to be going about their normal everyday activities.

Jackson throws the reader off by describing everything so "rich with life and blooming" which is very ironic to the end of the story. Summer is usually a time of happiness and new life, but not for this community. As she goes on describing the community, Jackson begins to throw in clues foreshadowing the evil and brutal act at the end of the story. For example, Jackson tells the reader that they all gather at ten o'clock for a lottery, most evil acts happen at night. Jackson also does not mention a common meeting place that most communities share no matter what, a church or a courthouse.

This also hints at the town's evil side despite the calm normal setup of the story. A big clue that sort of stands out is their celebration of Halloween, but the failure to mention Easter or Christmas which further proves the point that something isn't right with this town that seems to be normal. Where Jackson really used meaning and depth is the characters and their names, also the roles they play in the community. Each character is full of ironic meaning and symbolism which ties to her theme that everything in life is not just what meets the eye even people have deeper and darker sides to them.

Mr. Summer is sort of the higher authority in the town which is very ironic to the story because his name symbolizes life and rebirth, but instead he is the one in charge of the lottery. Instead of life Mr. Summer is giving death. Mrs. Delacroix's name means cross in Latin which strongly foreshadows Tessie being sacrificed in the end. Mrs. Delacroix also acts very friendly to Mrs. Hutchinson, but she is the first to tell other people to stone her. This hints at Mrs. Delacroix's evil side. She figured no one would do this for me why should I help her out almost like it is normal to be stoning your own friend.

Also, Jackson wanted to paint a picture that this was all a very normal activity for the community and they wanted to finish it so they can get back to their everyday life. Graves name is probably the most symbolic and obvious, because he is the one who carries the black box which represents evil and death. Mr. Graves name also means death hinting at the outcome of the story. Old man Warner is ironic in this story because he isn't your typical wise older man. In.