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  • Representative Of The Lottery
    471 words
    'The Lottery,' ; written by Shirley Jackson is a story that takes place in a small town of approximately three hundred residents. Every year on June 27th the townspeople congregate in a giant mass in the middle of town, where the 'lottery'; takes place. This lottery is a ceremony in which each family throughout the town is represented by a tiny white piece of paper. The family representatives, who are the heads of the household, take turns drawing from a box that contains these three hundred pie...
  • Piece Of Paper From The Box
    324 words
    "The Lottery" written by Shirley Jackson is a classic tale about society's aversion to change from tradition. On June 27th each year, a small town gathers together religiously for an annual lottery drawing. Jackson cleverly uses many symbolic events to foreshadow what the winner of the lottery actually wins. The story opens with the gathering of the townsfolk in a place where "square dances, the teen-age club, [and] the Halloween program" were held, demonstrating that the townspeople seem very k...
  • Lottery For The Town
    805 words
    The Role of Tradition in "The Lottery" Throughout time, tradition has played a key role in all culture's lives. They shape the way a culture lives and interacts with the world around them. Traditions bring one another together and it is a time to enjoy each other's presence. Traditions are carried out because that is what has been done in times passed and that is what people view as the right thing to do. Traditions have been passed down from generation, to generation, to generation. It is this ...
  • Lucky Winner Of The Lottery The Person
    1,141 words
    Merriam-Webster's online dictionary defines tradition as, an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom) and the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction. If we are to go by the latter definition, we can understand how traditions are easily lost. Have you ever played the game telephone You whisper something in someone's e...
  • Lottery The Word Tradition
    322 words
    Research Paper: The Lottery The word tradition can have a slue of different meanings. For people of diverse backgrounds, religions, and genders certain traditions are held dear to them. The Webster International dictionary had many definitions for tradition, but the one that applied best states that tradition is the "oral transmission of beliefs, opinions, information or customs" (Webster 2684). Shirley Jackson the author of many fictional stories precisely "The Lottery" uses the story to explai...
  • Use Of The Lottery
    1,153 words
    The Lottery" and Religious Tradition While "The Lottery" is a fictitious story it can be argued that it mirrors the attitude of American culture in how it addresses religious tradition in its major holidays and celebrations. Two of the biggest holidays in the United States are Christmas and Easter. Both of which are derived from Christian beliefs. Even though "The Lottery" is apparently a pagan ritual, violent and horrific, it is appropriate, only by the fact that the participants no longer reme...
  • Tradition As The Main Theme
    542 words
    In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson's unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone th...
  • Tradition Of The Lottery
    333 words
    When I read the short story, 'The Lottery' all could think of was it was not what I expected a lottery to be. The story from the beginning is weird because these people are not excited and when Old Man Warner says that it is foolish ed to end the lottery and that it should be kept because it brings good luck. I thought whatever you are winning in a lottery must be good. When it was time to go forth and get the paper people were scared and quiet and were told not to look at who won. No one was ex...
  • Tradition Of The Lottery
    832 words
    Traditions in 'A Moment BEfore the Gun Went Off' and 'The Lottery' In the stories 'A Moment before The Gun Went Off' and 'The Lottery,' there is the situation in which a group of people cling to traditions very blindly. In both stories the traditions are so dug into the people's way of life that questioning them is considered sacrilege within these communities. Furthermore, the members of the community no longer even remember why the traditions were set up in the fist place. They follow the trad...
  • Lottery Box
    1,434 words
    Shirley Jackson's, 'The Lottery'; , clearly expresses her feelings concerning traditional rituals through her story. It opens the eyes of readers to properly classify and question some of today's traditions as cruel, and allows room to foretell the outcome of these unusual traditions. 'The Lottery'; is a short story that records the annual sacrifice ceremony of a fictional small town. It is a detailed narrative of the selection of the person to be sacrificed, a process known to the townspeople a...
  • Old Man Warner Believes In The Lottery
    611 words
    In the days of Jesus through the mid 1900's, people had many different superstitions, or beliefs, about life. People believed if they were to do certain things, they would have good luck. Like Indians used to do a dance, called the "Indian rain dance", when they wanted it to rain so it would help their crops or even their heritage. It was a dance people still believe in today, but those people don't know that the reason they said it worked was because the Indians didn't quit dancing until it rai...
  • Lottery The People Stone A Chosen Person
    676 words
    Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' talks about a community that follows a tradition. Every year the people take everyone's name, put it in a black box, and pick the name of a person. This person they stone to death. Their reason range from an idea that having the lottery makes them civilized to an idea that the lottery makes for good crops. The author suggests that the real reason is society's need for a victim. When talking about communities that have given up the tradition of choosing one person ...
  • My Father's Church Traditions
    760 words
    Religious groups encourage and enforce conformity of their social norms and beliefs upon their members. Religious traditions are usually passed on from parent to child at an early age. In "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson reveals the tradition of the lottery and how all of the villagers conform to the ritual of a human sacrifice. Growing up with an exceptionally religious father I can relate to way of thinking of the villagers that traditions are accepted without questioning. In "The lottery", the ...
  • Everyday Use The Struggle Over Tradition
    526 words
    Tradition is an important part of everyone's life. Some people follow traditions so deeply rooted in their everyday life that they don't even recognize them as such. Why do you cook rice a certain way? Well, that's the way Grandma always did it. Others hold tradition above anything else. They feel that it is very important to follow these established customs and cannot even imagine rebelling against them although they may be hurtful in some ways. They may not even remember the reason for these c...
  • Tradition Of The Lottery
    1,127 words
    The Illusion of Tradition There is a Lottery going on today and we all hold a ticket. In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson is asking people to stop for a moment and take a look at the traditions around them. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to show that traditions today are sometimes as misguided as the tradition of the lottery in that small town in Somewhere, USA. Evil can be evoked in the most kind-hearted person if tradition deems it ok. Though the years there have been many wars in which many men ...
  • Tradition Of The Lottery
    609 words
    Jackson's 'The Lottery " as an Allegory Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' is an excellent example of an allegorical short story. In this story, the reader learns of a town's 'lottery' that takes place once a year, every year. It has been a tradition in this small rural town for many years and the villagers never question these activities, they just blindly go along with it. But what the reader doesn't know is just what kind of prize the winner is going to obtain. Jackson's use of symbolism is show...
  • Lottery The Theme Of Violence And Tradition
    604 words
    THE LOTTERY The theme of violence and tradition is persuasive in the short story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson. This theme is not a generalized theme of violence, but a theme of ritualistic violence. This violence is shown in the traditional town-wide lottery drawing that takes place on each June 27th. However, this lottery is not to draw a winner of some great prize, but seeks to draw a loser whose life will be taken. This ritual has been practiced for so long that the townspeople are ...
  • Tradition Of The Lottery
    336 words
    Religous Symbolism in "The Lottery" In "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson reveals one of the most basic facets of humanity, the need for a scapegoat. Mrs. Hutchinson, having been designated the recipient of the lottery, becomes the scapegoat for the village. The tradition of the lottery is analogous to religious traditions because it is passed on at an early age, people rarely openly question it, and it focuses on a scapegoat. Religious traditions are passed on to children at an early age, just as t...
  • People's Apprehensive View On The Lottery Tradition
    626 words
    Authors often use the setting to foreshadow and reinforce the theme of their story. Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is no exception. Jackson uses the setting, character names, and the description of the lottery's black box to strengthen her focus on a view of traditions. The initial setting of "The Lottery" could be thought as misleading. However, Jackson's intention is to establish the story's setting in a regular town on a summer day. Rather than describing the day as gloomy to alert the reade...
  • Every Year After The Lottery
    1,408 words
    Analyzing Theme: ? The Lottery? By Shirley Jackson Analyzing Theme: ? The Lottery? The Lottery? by Shirley Jackson Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role on how they go by there everyday lives. In Shirley Jackson's short story, ? The Lottery, ? the citizens of a small farming to...

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