Monday, November 27, 2017
The Lottery
In a short 200-300 word response, explain how the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is relevant in today's society. Choose 1 or 2 symbolic objects, characters, or actions and explain how that symbol helps develop the theme. Make sure to include T.A.G. Read the following analysis to get some ideas: http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-lottery/themes.html
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"The Lottery" is a chilling story of how a 'lottery' is conducted in a 300-strong village. Here's the catch: this 'lottery' is actually a ritual whereby the 'winner' gets stoned to death, even by his/her own family, as a sacrifice for good harvest. Naturally, you might think that these villagers are inhumane and cruel; and you will never be caught dead committing such acts. However, many of us do. It all boils down to the works of the society, and the idiom, 'The blind lead the blind'.
ReplyDeleteAs a ritual, everybody feels it is sort of a duty to go along with this 80-over year old custom, resulting in the heartless act of killing to take place. However, the real cruelty is the fact that none of the villagers actually stopped to think, " Is this right?" or, "Why am I doing this?" They just assumed it was right since everyone was doing it, adopting a 'let's go with the flow' mentality.
That brings me to my point that the society can sometimes blind us and blur the line that separates right from wrong. Everyone is sure to have committed a fault just like that. Of course, it probably wouldn't be to the extent of causing a death, but we still have to be aware that a small sin doesn't mean no sin. I think we should be aware of the appeal that the author Shirley Jackson is trying to make, and put in effort to elucidate this line that separates right from wrong.
In the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly quiet and peaceful village starts off their day with talks and events leading up to an annual tradition -- a lottery. As the story proceeds on, audiences are able to figure out that this is not a typical draw of future fortune and luck, but rather, a draw of death. Shirley Jackson utilizes the unfortunate stoning at the end of the story and the black box in which the slips are drawn from to reveal that following traditions blindly will lead to unfortunate casualties and endangerment, although this may not always be the case.
ReplyDeleteBy implementing the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson at the end of the story, it exemplifies the theme because the villagers turn on her and essentially kill her all because she was the unlucky draw of a black dot. Why would they do this? They didn’t even question themselves and even have an old saying for it: “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” Through this saying, Jackson’s audiences can really notice heavily this tradition has been integrated into the villagers’ lives. By blindly following this tradition, not only do they lose a sense of self freedom, but they have participated in an execution of an innocent woman.
In addition of the eventful stoning, the beaten up black box symbolizes the villagers’ sense of tradition. What is so special about this box is that it has been the only piece of the lottery that has not been altered. In the story it even states, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.” It is so careless of them to just discard everything about this tradition except the box and the stoning. How dangerous can they be? These small details are included so Jackson can strongly convey her theme.
Jackson’s story is very relevant to today’s society. Traditions can be seen everywhere, from households, to schools, and even between friends. What becomes so dangerous about traditions, as Jackson has expressed, is when people following it become blind to its significance and relevance. This story is a precaution to understand various traditions before you too become involved in the endangerment of others.
The analysis of the story was very in depth and accurate, your interpretation brought many points that may have been unseen by others. You presented a very interesting perspective when you analyzed the seemingly unchanged tradition. The transition relating the subject of the story to real life was extremely smooth and the subjects that you compared were nice. The one thing I would change is the amount of analysis, you seemed to present in your post. The amount of commentary and analysis was extremely unbalanced but overall is a really good essay. (4/4)
DeleteYour analysis on how the villagers turn on Mrs. Hutchinson was very interesting. I loved how you mentioned how they lose their “sense of freedom” which focuses completely on the society itself. What I also saw from that scene was how family or friends can easily turn on one another by worrying only about themselves. Furthermore, your view on the black box and how it was altered show how people do not really understand the importance of tradition. They kept the one thing, the stoning, as the tradition instead of finding a new way to alter it completely. With this, I believe that the villagers are very inconsistent with their traditions because they are altering it to what they want. Your analysis was very thorough, but the only thing I wanted more clarification on was the last sentence. Overall, good analysis! 4/4
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ReplyDeleteThe short story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson talks about the topic Life versus Games and how in today's society we can not tell the difference. The author shows us this by giving us vivid imagery and using real life scenarios. This theme is represented by when she writes, “The lottery was conducted-- as were square dances, the teen club, the halloween program-by Mr.Summers”. This might not seem like anything important but Mr.Summers a respected and honorable man who takes action on doing fun activities is also conducting a deadly game. Even when the community is 300 hundred people strong they don't do anything about what is happening or simply stop it they go along with it ,and do what they are told. Such as today when in the news dares come out on in the internet. Everyone sees it as a joke something that is comical yet until someone gets hurt,dies,or when they know someone who did it and passed away by it everything is different. For example, in late July, an 8-year-old Ki’ari Pope of Florida died several months after her cousin dared her to drink boiling water through a straw. Pope burned her mouth and throat, and suffered enduring respiratory problems. The night she died, she told her family she couldn’t breathe, and fell unconscious shortly after.(Time.com) Those kids probably saw the game as a joke as something funny to do ,but until this young girl died they saw that it was not all laughs anymore. You also see it in the story when little David Hutchinson's mother had to get stoned to death his entire perspective changed because now it is happening to him. You never see how serious a situation is until you go through it. Everything is not fun and games we need to learn the difference. You need to learn the difference because luck isn't always in your favor.
ReplyDeleteShirley Jackson's "The Lottery” displays a dystopian beauty of the lottery's setting along with their almost ritualistic tradition. The lottery to me is relevant in today’s society, for it shows how we can be desensitized to tragedy. One astounding scene that would connect this theme is during the drawing of the lottery which would mean certain death for those who win this lottery. The crowd, instead of condemning this tradition, applaud and scold any peron(s) who complain about winning this lottery, for winning this lottery would mean you would be stoned to death. Now when i think of stone, I think of the Arabic Nations that still practice stoning as a punishment for certain crimes in the 21st century. Western culture of course does not condone this uncivilized punishment, but turn a blind eye towards it. When we hear of the Saudi woman who had been stoned for not following Saudi Arabia’s strict Islamic laws, we tend to turn a blind eye or not sympathize with the victim for we have become used to seeing it on minor news articles. The part where Mr. Hutchinson told Mrs. Hutchinson to "shut up," show just how even family become apart of the game against each other.
ReplyDeleteI like your view on "The Lottery", and how you show what the author is trying to say by writing such a story. I also like how you write about how still in today's world people still get stoned, and we turn a blind eye to it like in this story. You gave great evidence on what you believed the theme was and how we can be desensitized to tragedy now and days. 4/4
DeleteI enjoyed reading your analysis of The Lottery. One part that especially stuck out to me about your analysis was the ending when you referenced to the part when Mr. Hutchinson Told Mrs. Hutchinson to shut up and described it as " family become part of the game against each other" and i completely agree with you. I do however believe that you could have expanded on that subject by adding the part where Mrs. Hutchinson tries to add her daughters who have become apart of a different family to the lottery in order to lower the chances that she would win the lottery. Score: 3.5
DeleteThe short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson follows a peaceful town on an average day where people go about unusual activities such as rock collecting and grouping. Shirley uses themes of tradition and hypocrisy to connect her make her story relevant in today's modern society.
ReplyDeleteShirley's use of tradition is seen when the town gathers around for their yearly lottery for which they have forgotten the original purpose for, but continue to uphold the tradition. This lottery however is not your average lottery, the head of each family selects a slip from a black box, once a family wins this part of the lottery, one unlucky family member gets a shot at selecting a slip with a black dot on it and presenting to the whole town. Once the winner of the lottery is selected the town grabs the stones, rocks, and pebbles which they have eagerly collected in order to commence a stoning.
The theme of hypocrisy is used by Shirley when the winner of the lottery is selected. The tradition of the lottery is overlooked by everyone in the town until they are declared the winner. When this happens, the winner of the lottery desperately makes a fuss about the circumstances of the lottery being unfair, though had they not been chosen it is likely that they would not have even blinked at the selection of the winner.
These two themes are used heavily throughout the telling of the story, and can still be seen in today's modern society which upholds traditions that are not completely understood, and become hypocrites when they believe they have been treated unfair, or did not have the perfect circumstances for their success.
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ReplyDeleteIn “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson she uses symbolic images and actions to describe a theme of how in life when something keeps recurring some people become immune to it and the effects. When she starts of the story it begins on a warm day, with the children playing and the parents mingling. They are just waiting for The Lottery to begin which is a tradition that they do not know when it begin but they feel obligated to carry out the tradition. ”Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” I believe that this quote relates the most to today's society because For example, in the news we constantly see reports about people being killed that we do not really think about it much. One thing that we never forget to do is post on social media what we have seen and how its wrong but we never do anything about it. In my opinion this is how the lottery relates to today's society.
ReplyDeleteI see where your analysis is going, however I had a little trouble understanding due to some wording. There were also a few spelling errors. Overall, I thought it was good and straight forward.
DeleteI really like how you saw the connection to today’s society in a different way compared to others. Especially, when you talk about in today’s society people are so consume with social media and never forget to check it. Also, how we just like to talk about the problems in life and not do anything about it . Just like they did the story in the Lottery and when people today feel an earthquake and tweet “Did you feel an earthquake”. People in today’s society and in the story both like to point out what’s happening, but never do anything to resolve it. Something to work on next time you should elaborate more and further your analysis . Also, check grammar errors . Overall score ¾.
DeleteIn the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, a peaceful and quiet village of about 300 people have an annual tradition of conducting a lottery. As the story proceeds, it starts to take a rather dark turn. This lottery is conducted to sacrifice a ‘winner’ in order to have a good harvest season. The winner is stoned to death by the villagers and their own family. This story is relevant to our modern society in many ways.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, it can reflect how our modern society accepts violence until it becomes personal. To start off with, Tessie had not complained in the previous lotteries, yet she complained when it was her who was being killed. Most people in today’s society are so used to hearing about violent deaths, shootings, and even bombings. Which slowly starts to become a ‘normal’ thing and is not payed much attention to as it used to. When we hear about a cop shooting a suspect, we immediately see it as a right thing. We see nothing wrong with it because we assume the suspect deserved it, even without us knowing the full story. Things like this have become so normal to use that we longer care for them, we have accepted a violent society and we only want to make a difference when that violence affects us or a loved one.
I agree with your comparison of the story to our society nowadays. I also agree that people will not intervene in a cruel situation unless they are being affected. Your connections to the real world are exquisite. You make great points about the the story and people in society. Although I believe you could have also added that our society has become numb to violence. However I do applaud you your vocabulary and organization. I like how you separated the summary and analysis into paragraphs. This analysis is very well put together. 4/4
DeleteYour post relating to modern day society drew questions in my head, asking myself if it does relate to "The Lottery", which it does. An example would be great if you were to add in future posts. I agree that today's society does not care for most of the harm caused around us. I enjoyed your vocabulary and choice of words as well. They fit perfectly together to what you were describing. I would give your post a 3/4.
DeleteScore: 4/4 Your character analysis for Mrs. Hutchinson is similar to mine in the sense that Mrs. Hutchinson didn’t bother questioning or going against the Lottery until she was the victim. I really enjoyed how you made a connection between Mrs. Hutchinson’s actions and our world today. I was enlightened by your perspective on this matter and I agree with your claim that people have are so late to react to violence or social injustices. The transition between your summary and your analysis was really thought out because you used elements from your story in order to successfully deliver your point across.
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ReplyDeleteThe Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a very intriguing story that has a sick twist to it. She began the short story with an optimistic setting, “morning” represents a new day, “June 27th” reveals to us that it is summer and it should be enjoyable. The author is setting readers up for a big surprise because it seems to be too good to be true. As you continue to read a new character is brought up “...Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the town.” this is a representation of the importance of tradition within the village. “... no one liked to upset even as much tradition…” shows how they are afraid of change. The twisted part about the story is that the lottery was now about the joy of winning loads of money, it was a way to sacrifice as life in the village. The sacrifice was to help increase growth of crops, the Hutchinson's family were the unlucky winners of the lottery now it was just a lottery between the family. Tessie Hutchinson the mother of the family was willing to put her kids lives in danger to try to save her own, however she was the chosen one. The one who will be stoned to death not only by her fellow neighbors but her family. The Lottery is a representation on how people become desensitized by a tradition that is so sick, they became used to it and learned to be cold about it.
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DeleteYour view on how the author wrote, and perceived the society in “The Lottery” is very interesting. I likes how you wrote that their was a twist to the story something we did not see just like in life at moments we think we are on top of the world,but yet things and obstacles come and beat us down. Also on how you included that “Tessie Hutchinson the mother of the family was willing to put her kids lives in danger to try to save her own”. This represents how our human instincts are strong, yet very ugly. Survival to the fittest is the best representation of how this story is built on and what it represents. 3/4
DeleteIn the Lottery, a short story by Shirley Jackson the village is presumed as a peaceful society when in reality they were just at their doom. In today’s society it is common to believe that we are all equal and have the same benefits but sometimes that may not the scenario. Within the story, the character names are an example on how twisted things can be. For example, “Mr. Summers” and “Mr. Graves” both names that in my perspective are foreshadowing the story. Mr. Summers would be an example of the beginning of the story. In the passage it states, “the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” this leads the reader to believe the village is tranquil place. Mr. Graves would be an example of towards the ending of a story. For instance the story states, “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her.. A stone hit her on the side of the head.” The people of the village did not care to help. Moreover they were probably relieved it was not them. Furthermore, the story began very peaceful but led to a tragedy. In today’s society it is common to misinterpret things and end up with the short end of the stick just like Tessie Hutchinson.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, a quiet village of three hundred holds a tradition in which they call a “lottery”. In the beginning, there are children playing and adults gossiping making the setting feel normal and positive. Once everyone is gathered in the lottery, the audience finally sees the truth. In this lottery, a dark approach comes into play because once a person has chosen a paper from the box that contains a black dot, he or she will be stoned. Sadly, this unfortunate turn of events and what leads to it represent today’s society.
ReplyDeleteTraditions are common in societies, but the thing about traditions is that it makes people blind and unable to see the truth. People are so focused on what is given or provided to them personally that they do not see what is happening all around them. There are dying children and poverty happening on this planet, yet people are doing nothing about it. Due to this, I believe that Jackson is showing the selfishness of societies nowadays. Like in the story, we see that Mr. Hutchinson believes in the dark tradition and once his wife is revealed to be the one stoned, he still continues with it. He knows that with this, he will be safe. It is displayed that Mrs. Hutchinson's friends also go along with the stoning which show that Mrs. Hutchinson means nothing to them. The importance of family and sense of mind are thrown aside when it comes to the tradition. This can be seen all throughout the society because people will only act if they are the one affected. If one little tradition of a black box can turn families against one another, what other “traditions” have changed people’s point of views?
Our views on the theme of this story are fairly similar. What is different is how you have tied this tradition to the world we live in nowadays. Your depiction, "People are so focused on what is given or provided to them personally that they do not see what is happening all around them," is THE line that captures everything. I am in total agreement with you. The characters in this novel seem to follow the Lottery so blindly that they are willing to even turn against a loved one. In a way it is selfish, but I cannot completely agree with you when you say, "Jackson is showing the selfishness of societies nowadays." In my point of view, I believe she is rather exemplifying how rash we humans are and how blind we can become towards the innocent. Although I may not agree wholeheartedly, I can see your spectrum clearly.
DeleteI would give your response a 4/4.
DeleteAfter reading your analysis, you made some good connections and pointed out some valid points about today’s society. You mentioned how peole usually turn their heads on issues that do not affect them , and I agree with that. Nowadays, most others pretend to care about the issues going on around them but don’t stop actually stop to assess the them lend a hand. As you stated , when Mrs. Hutchinson was the one chosen her “ friends “ and family seemed to not be affected by it . Instead they encouraged her to accept it and get it over with.
DeleteIn the short story, The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson we see how people follow a tradition without questioning why they’re really doing it. We see this happening in today’s society as well, when people follow trends or other things. Everyone follows along, but it doesn’t make it right. The action of “following” could move others in the wrong direction, so it is important to question what you’re about to do. The people who live in the town are just one example of followers which brings up the topic of when to question authority. They follow the tradition because it is held by important people of the town so they assume it is okay. Throughout the short story the people who live there seem to be manipulated by the tradition and authorities. By them being manipulated we see how authority can be a problem in certain situations. The people know what happens during “The Lottery” yet they still choose to follow along instead of protesting against them. Many people in our society believe that protesting against authority is a bad thing to do and fear for the consequences, but in reality if people would have not protested our lives would be completely different today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the fact that sometimes people follow traditions or societal norms without questioning their true meanings or intents. You say that we see this "happening in today's society", but in what way? In what scenarios is this submissive following of large groups of peoples is this showed? I do not thing that they are being manipulated, rather, they just lack initiative to question and change the situation they are in even if it is affecting them personally. I also do not see analysis on symbolism, I would suggest you do so. Maybe on the connotation of the word "lottery" or something in the story that portrays that "manipulation" that you mention in your response.
DeleteIn the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, Jackson illustrates a form of tradition of a small village that fears this very day of the ’lottery’. Further in the story Jackson indicates a source of drawing from an old wooden black box the whole village seems to respect.
ReplyDeleteAdding on, Jackson in the beginning of this short story presents a humble morning describing the current village environment; it being “fresh warm” and “grass was richly green.” Little do we know, through the story we discover that this “lottery” is an annual event. Not the typical lottery you know of, where you have a possible chance of winning a good fortune of money, but the lottery of death. Jackson introduces the man who has been hosting ‘The Lottery’, whose name is Mr. Summers.
Mr. Summers throughout some of the years has been insisting in replacing the black wooden box. Oddly, the villagers deny it, but why? This village has their own saying, being “Lottery in June, corn heavy soon.” So you’d say the villagers have a fear if changing any sort of this tradition will affect their growing of crops. These villagers though, through time and generations have developed a great fear for this ritual. Not only do families with young children get to be included in it, but elder people from the village seem to get bothered by the fear and lack of includement with the younger people in the village. Such as Old Man Warner would say, “It’s not the way it used to be… people ain’t the way they used to be.”
This story can be compared to today’s society, because tradition can be anywhere. No matter the race or ethnicity and age, there will always be a form of tradition. It may be life threatening like “The Lottery” or it may not. But if we were the relate it to this short story, gangs have a similar “tradition” of life threatening rituals in order to initiate someone into group.
I agree with your statement about how "tradition can be anywhere", however you didn't really analysis this topic to its full potential. You summarized the whole story instead of analyzing your topic of tradition. Although I believe you could of also added how traditions are hard to let go, I really like how you related traditions to gangs, and how traditions can sometimes be life
Deletethreatening. For example, many gangs are still active because of tradition and how they started. Even if many gang members don’t believe in the traditions it carries out they still continue to be in it because they are afraid or want to keep the tradition alive.
I like the way you introduced Mr. Summers and the black box, summarizing it's significance and the story all at once. Something I did notice was that your recap of the story was longer than your analysis. If you wanted to improve I would say just shorten the summary and focus on your ideas more. 3.5/4
DeleteYour introduction and analysis was really great and straight forward. Your comparison to their tradition from today is true, but i think you could've elaborated more on what kind of tradition of the present would be similar to Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. Overall i think you deserve a 3/4
Delete“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. In the short story, The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson, the author uses a lighthearted tone to talk about a peaceful village who is getting ready for its annual lottery drawing. As the story continues, the tradition of the lottery is constantly brought up by the majority of the characters however, its purpose remains ambiguous. As a result, when The Lottery is revealed to be a ritual in which a person, in this case Mrs. Hutchinson, is stoned to death, the reader is left in a state of shock and confusion. Together, the black box and Mrs. Hutchinson’s actions to avoid death, support the idea that in life, some actions are easily accepted by society and no one will question it until they are personally affected or victimized. To begin with, the black box is the heart and soul of the Lottery. From its color to its purpose, the box often comes to mind whenever the Lottery is brought up. Just like the Lottery itself, the villagers have refrained from getting rid of the black box simple because it is something that they’ve used for ages. This comes to show that for generations, the villagers have made human sacrifices acceptable in their society and willingly followed this ritual. The only time in which this tradition is questioned is when one’s life is at stake. For instance, Mrs. Hutchinson had willing participated in the Lottery for years and she only realized that it wasn’t fair was when she was about to get stoned. In real life, people often accept certain beliefs and refrain from looking for change. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement or all of the anti bullying laws weren’t initiated until people’s lives were in danger. In our world, it seems as if we're constantly waiting for a tragedy to happen in order for change to occur.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you tied in Mrs. Hutchinson’s reaction along with what the black box symbolizes in order to get your point across. I agree with your ideas, although I did not write about the same theme I thought the same thing when I came across the part of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson’s reaction. I also wrote about tradition not wanting to be changed, where our themes differed was where where was described how in the story and now, people only fight against tradition if it influences them. 4/4
DeleteIn the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the story is about a town which participates in a ritual that selects a townsperson at random, and stones them to death. While we see this as something unthinkable, people today don’t do much different. We allow tradition to restrict us from change.
ReplyDeleteThis is symbolized in the description of the black box. The box is said to be extremely old, practically ancient. But everytime Mr. Summers called attention to the matter, “the subject was allowed to fade away” and the box continued untouched. This represents how unwilling the townspeople were to change. Although it wa minor, they are stubborn and insist on keeping things the way they are. This is a lot like people today. They see any change to be something to affect their lives terribly. Humans being complacent, they do not want what they have to be “compromised” when in reality, it is just a different outcome from what there was before. In no way is it necessarily worse, yet people react like change from tradition is the end of the world for no real reason.Change is not an exact negative thing just like tradition is not an exact positive. We need to be open to new ideas in order to grow and learn from other things instead of having tradition restrict us from doing so.
I appreciate how you gave a short description of the story itself. Doing this can be very beneficial to readers in understanding not only the story more, but understanding where your train of thought came from. I like how you used the black box as an object that untimely represented tradition. Your interpretation on tradition where you stated "yet people react like change in tradition is the end of the world " really caught my attention. Sometimes tradition can be so misleading in today's society and I like how you analyzed it. You compared change to tradition and I appreciate you doing so because you brought a good point to the table. I agree with you when you said that neither change or tradition can be only positive or negative, every situation is different. Overall your interpretation was good however, I feel like you could've elongated your thoughts and you could've chosen another object or person that represented tradition.
DeleteI agree with your statement that we as individuals have "allowed tradition to restrict us from change." We have grown as stubborn individuals who don't want to remove a certain tradition or traditions from our life. I really like the way you captured this perspective by comparing the box to our daily lives. I also agree with the fact that in today's modern society we " see any change to be something to affect their lives terribly". We have guided our lives through tradition that we are afraid of what our lives were to become if we got rid of that tradition. You analyzed this topic in a really organized manner and did a great job comparing it to today's modern society. 4/4
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DeleteYou have made an exceedingly strong connection of The Lottery to the lives of individuals today. I agree with the idea that humans “see any change to be something to affect their lives terribly,’ because it is often seen in society. When anything or any one person changes, we immediately believe that the change is solely going to lead to self-destruction. We fail to recognize that change can, at times, simply be a new learning experience, as you mentioned in your analysis. I am really fond of the manner in which you concluded your analysis; it was a very bold statement, a true eye-opener that can connect to individuals in a multitude of circumstances.
I would give you a 4/4 on this response.
DeleteIn the short story , The Lottery by Shirley Jackson she sets the mood of laughter and positive vibes where the small village of people are getting ready to celebrate the tradition of a lottery. This lottery is like no other ,because instead of winning something amazing like money you get chosen to get rocks thrown at you . The irony of this relates to the society today since we have violence all around us that we chose to accept it as a normal daily event. An example is that there is racial discrimination everywhere all the time , but nobody seemed to care until they were being deported. This shows we can go a whole day witnessing violence and won’t care since it’s not happening to us . Just like the actions of the villagers who never questioned why they encouraged attacking someone so brutally with rocks . Until, Tessie was put in the position she was willing to throw her own daughter under the bus so she wouldn’t be tortured .Other symbols in the story can be the stones they are built to protect us and give us security , but it is the thing that brings us down . In some cases, the things that build us up can also knock as down . In conclusion , our society is filled with violence that is overlook since we are not the ones being torture we pretend it's not happening.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning summary clearly gives me a short visual of the story which is helpful to the readers. I loved how you used racial discrimination along with deportation as one of the things people suddenly act upon when it comes to them being in trouble. By mentioning how "we can go a whole day witnessing violence" just displays how blind humans are in everyday situations. I can relate to your point of view because I also notice the way society is getting worse by the way people are getting used to seeing violence around the world. What I do not understand was the way you used stones as a way of "protection" and "security", but what I got from it was that it is used on homes that keep us safe which might be what you meant. Although, I think that you should have focused more on the racial discrimination to state your theme. I relate more to it and got more ideas as I read through it. The only things that were distracting in the blog were the comma splices, weird spaces, and the grammar checks. Overall, the blog was clear, captivating, and original.
DeleteYour commentary about the opening of the story is very helpful to understand how twisted things are within the story. Your statement, “she sets the mood of laughter and positive vibes where the small village of people are getting ready to celebrate..” The author opened the story with a false tone which later on may confuse the reader. Your opinion is very relatable because in today’s society winning the lottery means winning money. In the short story, “winning” lead to death. This makes the reader question the story. Why would anyone want to continue that kind of tradition? Societies back then and now do show change but the world is still equally as cruel. We could witness violence and still not do anything about it.
DeleteI give your analysis a 3/4.
DeleteScore:3/4 I think that you provided a very detailed analysis however, you have one or two awkward sentences. For instance, “ An example is that there is racial discrimination everywhere all the time , but nobody seemed to care until they were being deported.” could have been written as two sentences. Other than that, I really liked how you connected the short story to our world today. You had a many valid points and I was enlightened by them. You not only provided analysis, but you also supported your claims with a lot of comments. I also found it interesting how even though we shared some common topics, we both talked about them in different ways.
DeleteI would give your analysis a 3/4. One thing i really enjoyed about you analysis is how you connected it not to the violence we see in are world but also the discrimination we see every single day. I also that you gave an amazing example of how even some people's families will turn their backs on some. When you wrote “she was willing to throw her own daughter under the bus so she wouldn’t be tortured.” That was the most powerful sentence in your analysis in my opinion because everyone has a family and to think that a mother would do such a thing to her kid is unbearable. I really enjoyed your analysis because it really open my eyes to another opinion on The Lottery.
DeleteIn the short story The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, it starts off in a peaceful village of three hundred people that have a recurring tradition of conducting “the lottery”. As the story progresses, the author describes it just as an ordinary day with the children playing around and adults talking to each other. When the villagers start gathering in the townsquare, the lottery starts to take place and the audience can tell that it is not a typical drawing, since they do not get to win or receive a prize of any kind. Instead, when Tessie Hutchinson picked out of the black box, she found herself in a difficult situation because she took out the ticket that had a black dot on it. Soon enough, the audience can come to a realization that the truth does eventually come out one way or another. In Mrs. Hutchinson case, most of her close friends and family turned their backs on her. Therefore, the story The Lottery is relevant in today’s society because many close friends and family members tend to turn their back on one another when things do not go the way they plan. Family bonds are a significant part of the lottery, but in reality things happen along the way which causes friends and families to separate. To add, family relationships are essential to how the actions of the lottery are carried out, but these relationships mean nothing the moment it’s time to stone the unlucky victim. Although family relationships determine almost everything about the lottery, they do not guarantee loyalty or love once the lottery is over.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the author attempts to relate real life with the theme of traditions and how sometimes, these traditions are not meant to be continued. In the story, it starts off with a light-hearted tone and it seems to be the beginning of a great summer day. As the story progresses, however, we learn that in this particular village there is a lottery that is held once every year. The whole village participates and one person's name is drawn from a box. They are to be stoned to death by all the other villagers, including the children, according to the tradition. This tradition can be seen as inhumane and helps support Jackson's theme of traditions.
ReplyDeleteOne example that supports Jackson's theme is the moment before Mrs. Hutchinson was stoned to death and she cries out, "It isn't fair, it isn't right." Mrs. Hutchinson's plea for help can be interpreted into real world situations when a person is forced to commit an action that they do not want to do. Another example is when the box is first brought out and everyone seems to be unwilling to even come near the box. This can be interpreted as the disdain that people hold against this tradition. This is also reflected in real life, for example, some people refuse to vote during elections as having a certain political view can get them discriminated or treated poorly. These examples all support Jackson's theme of tradition and how sometimes, these traditions are not meant to be continued.
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ReplyDeleteIn the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson she starts of by describing a positive and peaceful setting as the village gets ready for their tradition known as the lottery. The author deceives us because little do we the the lottery consist of an unfortunate “winner” being stoned to death by their own family and friends. This relates to today's society because just like the villagers we have become so numb to violence and death around us. In today's modern society we can turn on the news and watch someone being brutally attacked or even killed but we think nothing of it as long as it does not happen to us or our families. Just like in the lottery no one speaks up about the uncivilized actions they are doing until the Hutcheson family is chosen and Tessie starts complaining and saying that they rushed her husband, it's unfair. Tessie adds her daughter back into her family even though she is already married just to lower the probability of her being picked. The black box symbolizes tradition and the author is trying to tell us that sometimes the normal is not right just because it happens all the time. To conclude our society is filled with violence and is overlooked all the time because it has been implemented into our everyday lives.
I like how you started off with a little summary then explained about an unfortunate "winner". I agree with you that today's society have become numb to violence and death. A lot of people doesn't really care about the death of someone because they are not relating to each other. The people who watching that on the news might feel pitiful and sorrow for the victim's family but really, they don't care too much about it. I like how you talked about the black dot symbolism but I think you should have done a little more analysis and you should have a theme sentence. Overall, good analysis. 2.5/4
DeleteIn the story titled the lottery by Shirley Jackson, is about how tradition can be seemed has the best thing even when its for all the wrong reasons. She portrays this by using the black mark. This black mark will symbolize who will get beaten by stones just so the crops can harvest well. We see in the story that this is an old tradition and no one wants to stop this tradition. We see this now because as we see many horrible things around this world or even in our country will just pretend by carrying by just sharing a page or a twitter tag. By them doing so they think they can save the world, but if “ all lives really mattered” why are there still many men, women, and children still with out home. In the story we see how even the young boy get stones to throw at the mother like today we can see our fellow human beans just like us beaten for their color or sexuality. Some people even will try to ignore it like if it is all okay. Even at a young age this is learned we see a homeless man our parents will pull us closer to each other and will say how they are just addicts, but people don’t know their stories many of them have served for our country so that we can walk out and be free. Sometime a share is just not enough. How in the story sometimes one person saying stop can’t make a difference.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your take on the relation of the story to today’s world. You mentioned how people tend to judge others based on just how they look and how they live , and I think that it just goes to show how people are quick to think that they are bad people. It was quite difficult to understand and read your analysis due to grammar errors and confusing wording; you should make sure to go back and revise at least once. I did not quite grasp your overall connection from the story to today. You gave many examples and ideas but did not give thorough explanations on how thy are all connected.
DeleteI like how you connected it to today using the example of the homeless people we see around today. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned that the kid picked up the stones and joined the stoning of his mother because in my opinion, it is something very cruel, yet the kids, or any of the characters lack to see to that truth. I like your overall interpretation and I do believe you get your point across. However, I suggest you do reread your answer just to fix your spelling and grammar errors. 3/4
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ReplyDeleteYour summary is very well written, I like the vocabulary and wording that you implemented. This summary is very strongly written. Although I like your example of gambling I feel that it was not necessary to include the disclaimer on actual gambling. The connection you drew to our real life society is a strong point. The way you made it relate to almost everyone was very effective because it is a common thing in life. Your analysis is very well executed as your summary. However I feel that you could have added more to your connection In the real world. I were left hanging and expecting more after your last sentence. 3.5/4
DeleteIn the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson demonstrates the theme of tradition as a village participates in a disturbing annual ritual. As Jackson describes how the town prepares for The Lottery we start to witness how everybody seems to know what to do when they get there, as boys are grabbing rocks for what is about to come. Although, The Lottery is tradition not many villagers know why they do it or even where it originated from. To add on, the villagers do not even have the slight enjoyment for the tradition but also would not dare to question as to why they continue to do it. They believe that if somebody were to question the ritual, which consists of murdering an individual from their village, the village will return to primitive times. man y of the villagers appear to be blind as to how The Lottery is actually affecting their village instead of having a positive tradition to unite them. Jackson states, "Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally. Despite the that details of the tradition have differed overtime, some policies have been upheld while others have been overlooked. It appears to be unclear to the public as to what rules were kept or dismissed. Many might think that they only continue to uphold this tradition because villagers such as Old Man Warner consistently pressure that if they do not, the town will no longer be the same.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you described the tradition to be something that the village avoids questioning. This adds that submissive aspect of the village's persona, as well as their overall character. I agree that they do not seem to enjoy the tradition, rather seem to be hurried to get it over with. Since they don't question it, they just want it to be over as soon as it can. Although, it has become routine for them. I like your response, although you lack to analyze the symbolism in a certain character or item in the story. If you're analyzing the tradition of the lottery as thoroughly as you are, I would suggest you analyze the definition of the word "lottery" or the connotation that the word brings and how it contrasts from the actual meaning it has in the story.
DeleteIn the short story, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, a superficially peaceful village is described leading up to the introduction of the annual lottery drawing. The connotation of the word "lottery", symbolizes the societal masking of cruel and inhumane acts that we classify as "conventional" or simply "part of life", in order to climb up the social hierarchy that leads to success. Jackson uses this word and event to showcase the theme of a submissive culture, allowing themselves to be used for success and societal stability.
ReplyDeleteThe word itself brings thoughts of winning and good fortune, when in reality, it is only used to be politically correct and make okay the stoning of a human being. The power of naming something gives you control over it. This ritual of “lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” as told by Old Man Warner, makes its presence in today’s society.
Through the power of naming something what you need it to be named, and masking something’s true identity to fabricate control over it, the relevancy is portrayed through titling the Mexican peoples, “Latinx” or “Hispanic”. “Hispanic” refers to the people, land, language, and culture of Spain. “Latino” means Latin in Spanish. Latin is the language of the old Roman-dominated part of Europe. “Latino” is equivalent to “Hispano”. “Hispano” is equivalent to “European”.
Society uses these terms in order to unconsciously keep alive the European-dominated culture and deny the Native Mexican culture. This all allows the European people to climb up the social hierarchy and over time, has led them to the top, always making presence in social progresses. Here, we see the theme of a society’s submissive persona, for which in the most part, we lack the ability to question traditions, leading our peoples to be dominated, and in the case of this short story, stoned. The word, “lottery”, portrays this inhumane act as something to look forward, as something positive, hiding its true meaning and intent, in order to produce a better harvest (success), by using and sacrificing people.
Written by Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery" is a dark and cynical short story with a dystopian setting about a small village with an annual lottery held every June. However, this lotteries
ReplyDelete"winner" isn't so lucky. Whom ever is the "winner", receives a brutal stoning from the small village of 300 people. In this lottery, the "winner" is a Mrs. Hutchinson, mother of 5 and wife of Bill Hutchinson, who once chosen, is turned on by everyone, even her own family. Eerily enough, no one in the village feels any remorse or shame once the stoning commences. This short story reminded me of a time in history when young men, boys, were being drafted in the military during the Vietnam war. This can be symbolized in the story by the lottery itself and the black box from which "villagers kept there distance, leaving space between themselves and the stool [on which the box was]" This, in my opinion, could symbolize draft evasion. Another thing that I made connection to Vietnam war was the stoning. The stoning I believe represented the treatment of U.S. soldiers who survived the war, by the U.S. citizens. The North Vietnamese ultimately won war and most Americans did not respond to this so well. American soldiers were spit on and shamed for losing the war. These soldiers mistreatment can best be represented by Mrs. Hutchinson's last cry for mercy: "It isn't fair, It isn't right,". These examples all help to develop the theme of injustice. From being put in the lottery against your will to being stoned for being the "winner".
Your blog post displays an interesting point of how the lottery reflects the drafting. As people are put into this lottery, they do so to “win” shame and mistreatment. It is unfair that we put people in positions of going to war/getting stoned but consequently mistreat them. We can question the ethics of the tradition and why the unjust treatment of people is justified in today’s society. Your blog post effectively shows the connection of the lottery to today’s society and makes me question the consequences of these actions. Your analysis is strong, but your theme sentence should be a statement not simply “injustice.” Overall, I would give your post a 3.5/4.
DeleteI enjoyed the connection you made between the short story, “The Lottery” and the Vietnam War because I never would have looked at it that way. I think that with the connection you made you could have had more themes such as courage because anyone who enters “The Lottery” knows what will happen if they are chosen and just like in war, anything can happen. Although I did enjoy your connection using the Vietnam War, next time you should connect it with something that is going on in today’s society. Overall you had a good interpretation about “The Lottery” I give you a score of 3.5/4.
DeleteIn the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author illustrates a wicked tradition yet starts with a playful tone. Kids running around collecting stones and people gathering at the town square. As the story unfolds we see that “The Lottery” is no regular drawing. You do not win anything nor is it something people look forward to. The person that is chosen is being sacrificed for a good harvest season. This story can relate to our society now in many ways, but one way that stood out was the way that people act. Most people are overjoyed that it is not them in an atrocious situation. We see that no one will intervene in a situation until it is happening to them. Mrs. Hutchinson wants to redraw only after her family is chosen. She has seen this tradition for years and only chooses to speak up now. Mrs. Hutchinson states “It wasn't fair”, but people are apathetic because it's not them in that situation. In our lives, we saw this when the Ebola outbreak occurred. People were sympathetic towards those in danger and affected. Although they continued on with their lives. However, when an Ebola report came from inside the U.S something had to be done about it. No we can’t have that virus here it's dangerous, but it's ok if it is over there where we can't see it or be affected by it. Shirley Jackson is showing us that people will not intervene unless they are being affected. Mrs. Delacroix grabs a huge rock, she needs both hands to throw it. When minutes ago she was anxious about being chosen for The Lottery.
ReplyDeleteI like your approach to the bad habits of humans that we all carry with us. It is impossible not to be at least a little selfish and it is easy to end up not caring about someone else in a bad situation because put simply: They aren't us and we'll be fine. It was a good source to mention the peak of worry towards the ebola epidemic. It is a point and case scenario of how we idly stood by and did nothing to help out the Africans that were awfully dying. To make it worse, we only started caring when it was a threat to America and a few people here had caught the horrid virus. Great connection to our society
DeleteIn the short story, “The Lottery”, author Shirley Jackson presents the idea that most people are inherently evil and therefore often accept negligence without any consideration for others. For example, Tessie Hutchinson demands that her daughters’ are entered into their family lottery to lessen her chances of being selected, imprudent to their fate should they be chosen instead. Her perfervid attitude helps develop the theme that these people are inherently evil, as she shamelessly volunteered her children to die instead of herself, and no one thought it was morally wrong. Again, the people of “The Lottery” prove their negligence when Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves tell Tessie to “be a good sport” about her family being selected to be stoned to death. The selfishness of this statement shows that most of these people are only interested in things that will benefit and please them. The theme is relevant in today’s society as well, with President Trump and many Republicans passing the new tax bill. Republican Senator John McCain, who is undergoing cancer treatment. voted to pass this bill, which will end cancer treatment for taxpayers with Medicare. McCain expects cancer treatment, which is paid for by taxes, but is preventing others from having access to the same. In “The Lottery”, everyone thoughtlessly follows the tradition to murder for their own enjoyment/benefit. In today’s society, Republican officials are passing bills that will hurt everyday Americans and benefit no one but themselves. “The Lottery” may seem brutal, harsh, and insensitive but it’s more similar to today’s society than many may realize.
ReplyDeleteI like the theme you developed, mentioning the author's belief that "most people are inherently evil". It is a strong philosophical question whether humans are born evil or are turned by nature. It is easy to see, conveyed from the story, that we don't care for others when put into bad situations as you said when Tessie "demands" that her daughters' should be entered into the lottery to lessen her chances of being chosen. In that sense, we can all have a piece of evil within us that comes out when we are forced to survive. Whether it requires sacrifices, or anything else that could mean a lot to us, we would give it up for ourselves.
DeleteYour theme revolves around one of the most controversial questions: “Is evil born or made?” I understand your point of view of the theme that man is inherently evil. However, I disagree with your opinion. If evil is born, then are babies considered evil? Don’t they symbolize innocence? Despite my opinion, I thought your response is well-formed. I liked how you connected your theme to our politics nowadays since this short story really has a few horrific similarities in our community today. I think you should use other academic words because I felt that it didn’t have a nice flow, but it was still a great commentary. Overall, I would give you a 4 out of 4.
DeleteIn the short story "The Lottery", written by Shirley Jackson, a small town holds a yearly lottery. However as the story progresses, the author reveals that the "winner" doesn't exactly win and instead, loses their life. At the end of this story, Mrs. Hutchinson wins the drawing and gets stoned until life escapes her. I believe that Shirley uses the symbol of how undisturbed everyone is to relate it towards today's society and how we are so unaffected by the death all around us. Just as the characters in the story were nonchalant about not only viewing the last moments of one’s life, but also taking part in it, most people nowadays no longer bat an eye when they see articles or videos about people dying in something like a mass shooting. Nowadays it’s even common for teenagers to share videos with each other of insane accidents that result in death just for their amusement. Granted, it’s not as if most people are taking part in killings like portrayed in “The Lottery”, but Jackson’s satire is clear in noting our desensitization to all the awful events that can no longer overwhelm us with sympathy like they used to.
ReplyDeleteI like how Nathan connected the short story to today's society, but I feel like you needed to add in more examples, although you may say that people have become desensitized, but that's just your opinion on the matter. One thing that I did enjoy about Nathan's analysis is that he connected it to current events. Although I do not believe that "most people nowadays no longer bat an eye..." it is still a point that can be connected to today's society and how some people have dormant feelings when it comes to these topics because of how often they occur. score: 3
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ReplyDeleteShirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” depicts a village partaking in a seemingly ambiguous lottery that ends up revealing the unfortunate death of an innocent woman. Jackson’s use of the villagers and Tessie’s disjointed character reveals how discrepancy between “following the crowd” and personal ethics can lead to a societal tensions that can be detrimental. Jackson uses villagers to symbolize mass deception. By following the crowd, it leaves no time to reflect upon the consequences. This is seen through the ritualistic nature of the lottery and (mostly) undisputed process. This demolishes the individual and focuses on the larger group. In modern society, one often makes choices not based on one’s beliefs, but what is popular. For instance, when partaking in elections, one may not vote based on what is morally correct, but what is in line with the community they belong too. Christian voters traditionally vote based on their communal beliefs rather based their intuition. Like in “The Lottery,” perhaps it is not the fact the villagers are inherently evil, but the mob mentality makes it difficult to challenge what has always been thought to be collectively “right.” Though Tessie seems to be intrusive, Tessie symbolizes those who dare challenge the status quo. She says, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” prior to being stoned. She says this to reveal how obscure the lottery is. Although she selfishly attempts to put her daughters in the drawing, Tessie highlights the wicked nature of the lottery. She speaks for the innocent people, past and present, who have and will be killed due to this unsustainable practice. In today’s society, activist and allies speak up for those who do not have a voice in democracy like those who are unjustly incarcerated or disenfranchised. They recognize their privilege is not of the people, but for the peoples. Much like how the lottery gives an equal chance for each person, Tessie acknowledges that this is NOT fair and voices her concertns. Jackson shows the reader the lottery has deceived the villagers to believing the lottery is okay regardless of the consequences.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your interpretation being that the people who partake in the lottery only do so because of those around them and not making a choice for themselves. They let the flow and bandwagon dictate what they should blindly follow. Additionally, I really like your example of how Tessie speaking out on the “unfairness” of the lottery represents those who challenge the status quo. It was a really different and unique way of looking at what the whole ordeal represented, especially in today’s society where many people (such as minorities) are silenced and do not have a voice to stand up for themselves. Additionally, you saying that the mob is not inherently evil but rather only makes it difficult to challenge the norm makes this only more relevant to societal standards today.
DeleteIn the short story, “The Lottery”, author Shirley Jackson, the story is about a small peaceful village undergoing their annual tradition of "The Lottery". As the story progresses she describes how kids gather rocks in preparation and a slow build up to the drawing of names. All leading to a dark twist to the story that Tessie Hutchinson will be stoned to death for winning the lottery. Shirley's theme is that having everything you wanted doesn't make you happy. Jackson uses symbolism in the short story to reveal her theme in a elaborate way. The lottery itself symbolizes the work and effort you put into achieving what you want. It takes time and sometimes luck to get what you strive for. Once complete, you feel like you won "The Lottery". Another example is the stoning of Tessie. The "stoning" represents the unexpected dullness you feel when you receive what you wanted, yet you don't feel the happiness you expected. The theme related to many real life situations especially to celebrities who's dream was to be famous, feel depressed one they get to the top. James Arthur, to use as an example, thought that his dream to rise to fame would make him happy, but in a interview "This Morning" was quoted saying "I didn't realise how big the repercussions would be. I didn't realise how devastated I would feel.". Ultimately leading to his depression and anxiety to worsen. It's the same case for many worldwide celebrities.
ReplyDeleteErick, your interpretation of “The Lottery” was very interesting to me because I didn’t see it in the way you saw it. I really like how you made a connection with James Arthur because that really is relevant in today’s society which not that many people are aware of. Although, I think you could have elaborated a little more on the theme of the short story so it could be a bit stronger and there were a few grammar mistakes. Overall you did a really good job on showing how it’s relevant to today’s society and explaining how “stoning” someone developed the theme. 3.5/4
DeleteIn the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson illustrates the idea of the randomness of persecution. The story began in a small village with only 300 people in a beautiful day. Kids was running around collect stone into piles of square. The “lottery” was not an actual lottery but a sacrifice of a person in town. As the story told, Tessie Hutchinson was the unlucky person in this “lottery”, who willing to bring her daughter into her “death” so she can have the less chance of being picked. The lottery represents action, behavior, or idea that is passed from one generation to the next generation that is accepted and followed unquestioningly. It is a tradition that no one has thought to question because it was a part of the town’s culture. The villagers was fully loyal to the tradition that no one know why it exists or how it was created. Nevertheless, the lottery continues because it was always the lottery. The symbolism of the lottery related to theme of the idea of the randomness of persecution is relevant in today’s society because the victim was randomly drawn by a slip of paper from an old box. Tessie’s death is an example of how societies can persecute innocent people for no reason. In present day, people are usually getting picked based on their races, colors, ethnics, religions, family background, etc..Just as the villagers, they were blindly followed the tradition to kill an innocent victim, Tessie Hutchinson; just like in real life people are expected to do without questioning why.
ReplyDeleteUyen, I think you talking about how the lottery represents traditions that are passed on from generation to generation is relatively true. However, I don’t think the lottery necessarily represents tradition, but is a tradition itself. I think there are probably deeper meanings behind the lottery that can be considered. You made a really good point in saying that the villagers are completely loyal to a tradition that they do not know the significance behind. I find it interesting that you mention the persecution of innocent people! It is not something I even considered but it’s true that in today’s society many innocent people are being persecuted for crimes they did not commit, especially with all the controversy surrounding Black Lives Matter, and I think it’s great that you mention it.
DeleteIn the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the story starts off by introducing the readers to a seemingly disarming description of a regular day in a village that was just about to conduct their annual lottery, only for the readers to discover that it was not about a draw for fortune or wealth, but a draw marking the death by stoning of one random villager. In the end, Jackson’s message about society is that people are oftentimes too indifferent and unfeeling to the wellbeing of others for the sake of preserving tradition.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, the children were the most enthusiastic about the tradition; they were already collecting “the smoothest and roundest stones” before the lottery had actually started. This idea of growing up through a tradition and never questioning it can go back to how, in today’s society, people have been raised to be unquestioning of old traditions. Take, for example, the discrimination faced by those whose sexual orientation differs from heterosexual, especially discrimination coming from followers of Christianity and its other branches. Although people from those faiths have steadily begun to accept the notion that not every single person is heterosexual, there are still many that do not simply due to the fact that they were raised otherwise. Specifically, it is the hypocrites who claim to be devout followers of a religion that emphasizes “loving thy neighbor” despite them going back and inciting actual hate and violence towards those who are a different orientation that are at most fault. This prime example, in my opinion, is similar to the children’s actions in “The Lottery”; turning a blind eye to age-old traditions, their origins, and refusing to change, even if it results in the endangerment of other people, is a dangerous gamble of life.
Your blog post displays an interesting point of how children grow up into the tradition rather than being born into it. By focusing our attentions back onto the idea of growing up, we realize that traditions are something that manipulate our perceptions of the world and give us an inherent bias. Much like growing up in the church or in a conservative household, it is difficult to break from our intuition. I like how you use the children to symbolize this idea and how they have been living in a world where stoning is normal.It makes sense that the kids would be the most excited, but at the same time they may be the group that breaks this harmful tradition. I would give your analysis a 4/4.
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DeleteDaryl, I really like how you interpreted Jackson’s message about society and how people are oftentimes too indifferent and unfeeling to the wellbeing of others for the sake of preserving tradition. I had not seen Jackson's message that way and your analysis has helped me see it in a new way. I especially liked how you compare the theme of discrimination with that of the ongoing battle of people with different sexual orientation and the church. That example really helped set a clear picture of discrimination. Your analysis of how some people of any religion can seem like hypocrites really resonated with me and made me take a look at myself. I would give your analysis a 4/4.
In the short story, “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, the author uses symbolism through a lottery to represent how tradition sometimes may lead to immunity to humane ways. In this small and peaceful village, it is tradition to hold an annual lottery in which the chosen one is stoned to death. These small town people see nothing wrong with this tradition they have held for years and as a result, they do not demonstrate proper compassion to the “sacrifice”. Although this is overall true, it is only challenged when the “sacrifice” tries to fend for their life. This reflects on modern society, because nowadays, we are used to seeing many horrendous acts being committed, many injustices, yet no one moves a finger unless it is for their own selfish needs. An example that could be used is death row. Death row is a tradition that many people agree with and believe it is justice. They only fail to not see its injustice once they are the ones on the stand on trial with the possibility of receiving the death penalty. The Lottery and death row are two examples of traditions that that demonstrate and lack an emotion that make us human: compassion.
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DeleteI liked how you connected the short story to the concept of death row because it’s one of the topics that aren’t talked about much. I agree with your view that people don’t see how their actions affect their surroundings until it happens to them. I was just confused on the part that you wrote about the sacrifice fending for themselves and not enough compassion for it. You have a few spelling errors, but overall it didn’t affect your overall message that no one would care until it happens to them. I would give you a 4 out of 4.
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DeleteYour statement "...many injustices, yet no one moves a finger unless it is for their own selfish needs." really stood out to me. Sometimes as humans we can be so self centered that we only act upon ourselves when we believe it is the right time to do so. I appreciate your opinion and interpretation on this topic. You worded your thoughts nicely and I think that you did a great job on expressing your mind while still connecting it to the story itself. I also like your interpretation on "justice" and how you used outside and modern examples and tied it all in to what you had to say. Overall I would give you a score of 4/4 for the reason being that you used a variety of good word choice that all contributed to your analysis and personal interpretation in the end.
DeleteYour analysis on the short story was very insightful, and I specifically enjoyed the part on how you connected the annual Lottery from the short story to death row in today’s society. I totally agree with your your statement that “we are used to seeing many horrendous acts being committed, many injustices, yet no one moves a finger unless it is for their own selfish needs.” Unfortunately, many people only commit certain actions that only benefit them and like you said, they “only fail to not see its injustice once they are the ones on the stand on trial.” Overall, you seemed to have made your interpretation on the topic very clear, good word choice and your connection with the lottery and death row was great. You gave clear examples and elaborated on your thinking and I would score this a 4 out of 4.
DeleteIn Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery, the author delineates how tradition will sometimes never be changed. In a like manner, this short story is relevant in today’s society because sometimes we are so attached to routine that if we get out of it we obtain questioning. In this short story, a village of 300 people is portrayed as being quite peaceful. Once a year they draw a lottery, in which at first seems like a positive action in where you gain success. However we soon become informed that this “lottery” is where someone is picked to get stoned to death. In today’s society, things that aren’t “normal” can easily be portrayed as normal if a celebrity or TV makes it seem normal. For instance, many have different views when they see an officer shooting or abusing a person of a certain race. Depending on the ethnicity and the person, their views can be totally different and they can feel more empathy to one person rather than the other. Many got so used to seeing Police Men shooting innocent people that when they see it on TV, they have already seen it so many times that they don’t even care. Just like in this story where violence takes place, but no one does anything to change tradition, today's society can sometimes be so caught up and used to routine that they do nothing for change.
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation among tradition is very helpful, I agree with your perspective. In today’s society we are in fact attached to tradition that we aren’t open to change. For instance, during holidays we tend to bring this topic to the table by following what is usually done. Take thanksgiving for example. We stick to the usual turkey and mashed potatoes but a lot of people who do this have no idea as to how thanksgiving came to be. In the lottery violence is shown. Today you will hear the phrase, “Violence is never the answer.” Why is it a constant action? Your statement, “violence takes place, but no one does anything to change..” The village in the short story is all familiar with each other, yet they turn heartless once they know they are not taking part of the lottery. This is just a small example as to how cruel and manipulated our world can be.
DeleteIn the short story, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson a peaceful village is described leading up to the opening of the annual lottery drawing. In the beginning, children are playing and adults gossiping making the setting seem as a normal day to day life basis. In this lottery there seems to be a major flip in which once a person has chosen a paper from the box that contains a black dot, he or she will be stoned to death. Jackson uses the event to showcase societal rewordings as a way of stability and success.
ReplyDeleteThe connotation of the word "lottery" comes along with many meanings in which in this case it has a relating factor to religion along with the masking of cruelty. A verse in the bible in Spanish says "que tire la primera piedra quien este libre de pecado." Culture has a huge participation on our ways of thinking that nowadays we are easy to judge. Along with that comes the masking of cruelty in which we are not tolerating a new era of generation. To sum it up, today's society is depriving a new generalization of new acceptance which would mean new norms as a form of lifestyle.
The word itself brings a thought of good fortune and winning when in reality it is a misconception of only wanting to form a hierchy of social acceptance and the stoning of a human being. Throughout the theme of a submissive society in which were we lack the questioning of tradition. The word "lottery" denies its true intent in order to achieve a certain standard of society.
Nice insight. I especially liked your use of a common Spanish adage; however, make sure to translate the saying into English. Also, watch some awkward wording: "Jackson uses the event to showcase societal rewordings as a way of stability and success." "a village is described leading up to..." is called passive voice; must use active voice. A good analysis, nonetheless.
DeleteOverall, good analysis of the theme on the story and how it relevants to today society. I agree with you that the word "lottery" has many meanings that it relates to the masking of cruelty. I'm just not really sure it means religion in this case as well. I think you should translate the Spanish sentence to English because some people will not understand it (like me). I also think that you should analyze it more about the theme and how it relevants to today. 3/4
DeleteIn the short story, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, a peaceful village of a very small and close community starts off in a peaceful day kids playing, women gossiping, and the men working to soon gather together for a, “Lottery” in a town square. One thing though this lottery isn’t the winning you expect, instead of winning something amazing like cash or gifts, you get chosen to get rocks thrown at you. The author deceives us because little did we know the lottery consist of an unfortunate “winner” being stoned to death by their own family and friends. This compares to today's society. Another example is when the box is first brought out and everyone seems to be unwilling to even come near the box. These are an example as the smug looks that people hold against the winners who won. This is also reflected everywhere else, for example, some people refuse to vote having a certain political view can have them treated differently or poorly. Just like the villagers we have become so numb to the wrong right in front of us that around us we hope for it to happen to them like entertainment. These examples all support Jackson's theme of tradition and how sometimes, these traditions aren’t always a good thing.
ReplyDeleteYour ties to today’s refusal to vote were unique. The summary made sense however the stories relation to today's society could have been made a tad bit clearer. Although I agree with your theme, you could have strengthened it by replacing "and how sometimes, these traditions aren't always a good thing." Your choice of using the black box as a symbolic object fits perfectly with your theme. Overall, this blog post was great, just needs some rearranging.
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DeleteYour blog had a different connection than I did and you present some good examples. I like how in your blog you discussed the political view. It is true that not everyone votes, because they feel there is an unfairness and some of the characters may have felt that way in, The Lottery . I really liked the analyze of the box and the smug on how it shows the negative connotation.Something to improve on in the future is to make sure you clearly answer the question and to italics and underline the title of the story. Overall I give you a score of 3/4.
Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery" depicts a small conventional village running through a normal day. The tone is completely ordinary until word of a "lottery" is shared to the audience. As we move along, we learn that the "lottery" is deeply rooted into the village's culture, although there is no apparent reason for such event. As the story finishes off we see the reality of the dark tradition but we are absent any type of logic or reasoning for the outcome. The action of stoning someone to death is naturally immoral; although the reasoning is what needs to be challenged. The tricky part is that there is no reason, the village is operating out of sheer "respect" for tradition, a tradition that has invoked so much fear that no one is willing to challenge it. Placing a modern lens on this story, we see very similar facets occurring. Replacing ethics and personal beliefs for what is most commonly being practiced just as the village did with the "lottery". The presence of the tradition establishes a very evident theme, which relates to the saying, "The blind leading the blind". It spawns relations based off of the fact that no one in the village, not even the eldest person present, can explain the origins or importance of this tradition. Despite that, the people of the village defend and enforce the tradition with the utmost care and respect.
ReplyDeleteI can see where you are going with your idea of tradition but I feel as if you did not establish a main thematic statement. Your idea was really similar to mine. Jackson is trying to establish that traditions, when followed blindly, is dangerous. The strongest points of your response is the fact that you are able to implement such top tier words with poetry. One thing I would say is to become more concise in summaries and dive deeper into your points. Your ideas are super strong and crafted very well. Score: 4/4
DeleteIn the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, we are being painted a picture of this tranquil and secluded village where things suddenly take a turn for the worse. Apparently, the villagers have this annual ritual known as the lottery, which is basically a murdering an individual by stoning them to death. Throughout the short story, Jackson uses symbolic images and actions in order to reveal the theme that we often times find ourselves following traditions or rituals blindly, without realizing the true colors behind these actions. For example, she states, “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town.” This just goes to show that the villagers are repeating this ritual just because its been done many generations before, they never even stop to question it because of the fear of upsetting changes in tradition. Although, the ritual itself is symbolic, the mane of it has an ironic significance. “The Lottery” is based on fate and in modern times, it is a symbolism of luck and winning, but in this case, Shirley Jackson uses it to symbolize a loss and that loss, unfortunately, is your life. This title is just a cover-up of inhumane actions that lead to murder based on fate. But through this all, no one seems to question this tradition, and all because of the fear of the village no longer being the same.
ReplyDeleteIssa, I really like the way you analyzed the theme. "Throughout the short story, Jackson uses symbolic images and actions in order to reveal the theme that we often times find ourselves following traditions or rituals blindly, without realizing the true colors behind these actions." It really explained the significance about these villagers actions and what they mean in regards to the story. You did a great job of not only telling us the theme of the novel but also how it compares to modern times. And the decisions we make today. That we often find ourselves following and too afraid to branch out.
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DeleteIn my opinion, your analysis on how people follow their tradition blindly is very accurate. You say that the Lottery traditionally is referred to as luck, but then Shirley Jackson twists that positive symbol and makes it an “inhumane” action. The people in this village fail to see the severity of their actions. They, without any remorse, stone to death whom ever is the chosen one. Additionally, you mention how no one wants to rebel from these actions all because they are in fear of change. I thought it was interesting that you mentioned that because it seems ridiculously that something like fear can paralyze you and can keep you from doing the right thing. 4/4
DeleteIssa, your thematic statement was straightforward, along with your summary and symbolism. The excerpt from the story brought your theme together and nicely explained the symbolic action you chose. I felt as though your connection to modern events was vague, but other than that; your post was great.
DeleteShirley Jackson’s short story , “ The Lottery”, is about an annual tradItional drawing upon which the person chosen is stoned to death. This small community of people treat the day as any other; denying to show any negative emotion towards this day reveals the numbness within the people. In today’s world , most people continue to go along with questionable acts as opposed to asking why they should continue to do it at all, because they are used to being given something to follow. They are accustomed to being told to do something and doing it a certain way. Much like how Mr.Graves refused to replace the black box that was falling apart because he does not want to upset the custom; also because they believe the box was constructed of pieces from the past. When Tessie’s family name is chosen she is quick to argue that her husband was not given enough time to choose, and when it came down to her being the lucky winner she says that it was not fair. Those in the audience gave remarks such as “ Be a good sport ,Tessie” and “ All of us took the same chance”, showing how they just want to get it over with. The actions of the community really question the morals and principles they have as a whole because deep down they are all scared of being the luck of the draw , but still choose to enforce it with respect. Do they continue this tradition because it’s something each one as a person chooses to follow it or are they scared of the consequences from questioning the authority of the tradition? Overall , it can be seen that people tend to follow blindly rather than leading with open eyes.
ReplyDeleteEsmeralda, I really liked how you provided great analysis of the theme throughout your blog post. I have also noticed that you included textual evidence about the black box and how it affects the citizens custom if they try to replace it. Although, you provided multiple evidence, I feel that you could have elaborated more by using more commentary after your analysis. Even though I get what you are trying to say, I think you should have went more into depth, so that it sounds more interesting and original. Your ending of, “Do they continue this tradition because it’s something each one as a person chooses to follow it or are they scared of the consequences from questioning the authority of the tradition”, makes me question the traditions people follow and whether or not they should be able to get a choice of making that decision. All in all, I would give this post a 3.5/4.
Delete“The Lottery” is a story written by Shirley Jackson, depicts a village with a strange tradition, to where all the villagers are entered in a “lottery” and the “winner” ends up being stoned to death. By using character design and actions, Jackson develops the theme when some people blindly follow a dangerous tradition, its meaning could be lost, and an immunity is built to it’s fearful effects.
ReplyDeleteAbout halfway through the story we learn of the characters mr. Summers and mr. Graves. These two have been running the lottery for some time, performing this tradition as it was a ritual. Mr. Summers seems to be this happy-go-lucky fellow, while mr. Graves is this slow and sad person. The villagers also seem immune to this ritual, in a way, blind. Only when one of the villager families gets chosen is it when the immunity truly shows. The mother of the family gets the paper with the black spot, which means that she “won” the lottery. While the mother is begging for her life, without hesitation, her friends and even her own husband are pushing her off to the side to be stoned. At this point all of the little kids in the village are excited about throwing the smooth stones that they've gathered. Some of these little kids are treating this as some sort of sport, while others were worried about their friends being chosen. These actions performed by the kids also imply that the parents and families of the village seem to be reluctant to realize the effects of the drawing.
Great analysis overall, I feel that it really gives into the details of the story. Although, i did feel that you could have elaborated more on how social media relates to the theme, but i do get what you are saying. I would give this post a 3/4
DeleteIn the short story "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson demonstrates how death was perceived too lightly by the villagers as the unlucky person was chosen. She uses symbolic actions by the characters to demonstrate the hypocrisy and apathy developed during the lottery's events. The story begins as a serene day as the villagers gather together to take part in the lottery slowly uncovering the cruel fate of Tessie Hutchinson. Once Tessie was chosen Jackson includes, "although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original box they still remembered to use stones." This shows how accustomed they are becoming passive seeing a person die each year and returning home as if it was nothing. The idea of death and violence tends to be a taboo topic but in this case, they follow the rules and if they are not chosen they don't see it as a big deal so they go along with the tradition. As Tessie is agitated she denies her position the women tell her "be a good sport" and "all of us took the same chance." The women show a poised manner knowing their families are safe and want the lottery to end as soon as possible.The way the villagers go along with the ritual is almost the same way as how people take in the news today either on social media or broadcasting networks. People view these terrors on screen but, with a click of a button they disappear and they no longer view the horrors going about their day.
ReplyDeleteOverall, great analysis of the theme on this story and how your theme was not vague, such as tradition. As you include textual evidence on how the villagers seem to have forgotten about certain things about the ritual but still managed to remember that part of the stones is a strong statement. You're right how the villagers are so blind to the ritual that they do not even see as the murder of a person every year. It seems like they see it as another event like if a town were to host a fair or something of the sort. Your last sentence correctly resembles how the women must have been feeling when he lottery finishes. 4/4
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DeleteRachel, I like how you connected the attitudes of the villagers to how we today view the negative things we see on the news. Like the villagers, we see the news, think “Oh, how unfortunate,” and then go back to our daily routine lives. Looking at the story from this perspective, it is actually an eye-opener for many, as we are usually unable to connect to what we see on the news today and, therefore, end up not feeling much for the topics that pop up on the news. I especially like how you phrased this phenomenon as “with a click of a button they disappear.” Wording it this way signifies how, if something does not directly affect us, we have the privilege of erasing the “terrors” on the news while those affected by it do not have that same privelige.
DeleteYour overall analysis had great connections with the short story, The Lottery, and today’s society. I like how you continued to summarize the story but did not forget to mention the theme and how you connected the villagers to today’s people on social media. I agree with you on the fact that most people get to click away from the terrors shown on screen and how it’s the same way as the villagers with each ritual they perform. You gave very powerful points with Tessie’s character and how the villagers are completely blind to this kind of inhumane ritual. Overall, I would score this analysis a 4 out of 4.
DeleteIn “The Lottery,” a short story by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly ordinary village contains a dark past, rooted by tradition. Villagers participate in the detestable act of a sacrificial lottery, losing friends and family once every year on the day of June 27. In comparison to today’s society, there was an incident in India during their worst heatwave. A cult group, which called themselves the Orkas murdered Thepa Kharla, a 55-year-old laborer (Mirror co.). Their motive for his murder was in hope that his sacrifice would summon rain to save their crops. Therefore, this occurance relates to “The Lottery” as the villagers seem to annually rely on sacrifice as a way to guarantee a successful harvest, as claimed in the quote, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” The lottery, for example, tends to symbolize continuous traditions and beliefs. The purpose for including the lottery is to express how people unquestioningly follow rituals, despite how inhumane their actions are and that if those traditions aren’t questioned, people will only continue to live blindly. Therefore, with the continuous inclusion of the lottery in this ancient tradition, Shirley Jackson develops the theme that blind acceptance of traditions only leads to danger as well as ongoing fear within the villagers.
ReplyDeleteYour comparison with "The Lottery" and the incident in India with the Orkas is very insightful. I enjoyed the fact you expressed the villages hardship in "The Lottery" and thoroughly explained their case and the troubles most face every year in June.Your theme clearly illustrates what you have described as well. I would give your post a 3.5/4.
DeleteGood response Irene. Remember response must be 100-200 words in length. Yours is only 61 words. Try to elaborate a bit more.
DeleteIn the short story, The lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the theme of gender roles and traditions are portrayed by the story of a village who have an event called the lottery. In the beginning of the story there are kids that are collecting stones for the lottery, while doing this they act like it is natural everyday thing and are used to it. Throughout the story, the readers find out that the lottery is actually a drawing for death. An example that connects to today's society about gender roles is when Mrs. Hutchinson gets picked in the lottery to get stoned. Right before she is constantly speaking up for herself and telling people to listen and she is being ignored. This may portray woman today in our society when we try to speak up and aren't being heard about our rights and certain situations. An example of tradition in this story is mainly the box in where they draw out the person for the lottery. The village are all for not changing the box because they are so used to this tradition. This shows how our ancestors and families influence our beliefs and effect our right or wrongs. This story shows how keeping something that isn't working or putting people in dangers, need to be changed or fixed; even thought it is what everyone is used to.
ReplyDeleteNice observation of how the theme consists of not only tradition but as well as gender roles. You also properly included the detail of how the children in the story seem like as they prepare for the lottery, it seems like a routine. I also appreciate how you started to mention that gender roles can be compared to modern day now. Although, I believe you could have elaborated a bit more on the gender roles and maybe given some examples of what happens nowadays that compares to gender roles. Your blog post can also further elaborate on the places where you mention the details that Jackson wrote. Why do you think that Shirley Jackson was trying to teach the reader by mentioning traditions being upheld? 3/4
DeleteThe short story “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson focuses on a small society maintaining such a horrendous tradition. By avoiding change, they evidently hurt someone. This is still relevant today because often times, individuals are afraid of altering the way they pursue things due to the unpredictable outcomes it can bring. For example, the villagers were criticizing another community for the steps they took towards changing the tradition. The villagers refused to change tradition, resulting in the same conclusions. They’ve been dismissing the idea of adapting a better system claiming that they’re simply following tradition. Nowadays, we still see a few traditional settings in our own communities, probably our own household. This includes how women are supposed to be the one doing all of the cooking and cleaning around the house while men work and provide the essential needs his family needs.
ReplyDeleteA symbolic item in the story would be the black box itself. It helps reveal the theme that change is sometimes necessary. The description of this box was perceived as worn-out and old. By refusing to change the box to “maintain tradition,” the villagers also refuse for any kinds of change. The box needed to be replaced due to its outdated usefulness, which connects to the tradition’s outdated relevance.
*Ms. Garcia gave me an extension until Wednesday 12/6.
Gaeriel, I think you’re right about how avoiding change leads to people always getting hurt. You mentioned the villagers refusing to change, and that as a result people had to die. I agree with you that this is still relevant today. Progress is important and being stubborn and closed minded could be dangerous to a ever changing society. I really enjoyed your analogy of the box to how things become old and worn when they stay the same! However, some of what you were trying to say was not clear and I think you could fix that with a strong thesis and clear theme. Overall, you had a very unique take on “The Lottery” and it helped me notice some things I had not seen earlier.
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DeleteYou have made an exceptional comparison of how individuals prefer to remain stagnant by following a tradition, rather than taking a risk and trying something new. I am in complete agreement with your statement that “individuals are afraid of altering the way they pursue things due to the unpredictable outcomes it can bring.” The example you cited from the text perfectly fits the point you were intending to make. I liked that you mentioned a symbolic item used by the author to reveal the theme. However, you could have provided a more clear explanation as to how the box demonstrates a theme. Overall, your analysis was exceedingly strong, and I completely agree with every statement you made. I would definitely give your response a 4/4.
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THE LOTTERY
In a short 200-300 word response, explain how the story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is relevant in today's society. Choose 1 or 2 symbolic objects, characters, or actions and explain how that symbol helps develop the theme. Make sure to include T.A.G.
In Shirley Jackson's short story,”The Lottery”, Jackson writes about a sacrificial and barbaric ceremony hidden as tradition that takes place in a small village. The village are gathered around through their family pods and send the head of the house, men, to draw from a tacky, black box. The person that draws the slip of paper with a black dot are elected to draw once again with the people under their household. In the end, the person who draws the slip of paper with a black dot are immediately executed through stoning, the reason may be that a human sacrifice would be exchanged for crops for the village. Within the story, Jackson displays stereotypical roles onto the characters and emphasizes the insensible reactions towards death by stoning in order to shine light on the brutal society that we live in today. Stoning is often slower than other forms of execution, stoning within the context of contemporary Western culture is considered a form of execution by torture and humiliation. In multiple cultures, stoning is a form of punishment for serious crimes or adultery. Although men fall victim to stoning, women have been known to be the target for executions by stoning. Was it a coincidence that Mrs. Hutchinson fell victim to the Lottery? Jackson’s decision to have the villagers stone Mrs. Hutchinson to death was to connect to real life events. In today’s era, there are women who fall victim to stoning in different cultures. Albeit in today’s society, women have still been targets for humiliation, whether it would be for expressing themselves in ways where it was traditionally believed that it is not in their place to act such a way. Overall, execution by stoning reveals the theme that people do fall victim to stereotypical ideologies and their insensibility towards “tradition”. ( by Deydaly)
In the short story "The Lottery" written by Shirley Jackson there is a small village that seems to work around tradition. As the story starts it seems as if it is a normal day but there are a few things the author singles out such as the pile of rocks. Though the rocks are foreshadowing it still does not seems as if this is out of the ordinary because Jackson states it is little boys who are making this pile. Knowing that it was little boys making the pile a sort of stereotype comes to mind because you would think little boys would just be playing. Throughout the story the characters do not seem to be phased by this lottery situation which could mean they are numb to the idea of stoning a person to death. As the lottery is soon to begin the author says that the men arrive first and the women come shortly after to join their husbands. This again brings up the gender stereotype. Everything within this story seems to be wrapped around tradition, more specifically fear of breaking tradition. The fear of not doing the lottery anymore even though the villagers could adapt a better system the still follows what they believe in. Also the gender roles are a sort of tradition, the men coming out and picking first, then the women.
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Sophia, I can see where you are heading with your idea of traditions, but I wished you had provided more textual evidence. Even though you presented great analysis throughout your blog, I think you should have been more in depth with additional commentary. Although, we shared the same idea of traditions, you gave me more of an insight that I could see through another perspective. The great thing from your response was how you provided your own opinions along with the analysis from the short story. One thing you could consider when writing your blog is choosing another topic that is original and unique to your own taste. All in all, I would give this post a 3.5/4.
DeleteThe short story "The Lottery" written by Shirley Jackson, a small and peaceful village of only 300 people have a tradition that later turned into death. They have to sacrifice a winner in order to have a good harvest season. The connotation of the word "Lottery" brings the thought of winning and has a positive tone to it.The word itself symbolizes good fortune but in the plot of the story reveals the theme of a submissive culture.
ReplyDeleteThis "Submissive culture" can be seen in today's society. The people in the small community see this day like a normal day. It shows the numbness toward the people. In today's world people prefer to keep everything to themselves and not let anyone know what they really feel. The lack of questioning the world around them and just letting the government and people in higher positions manipulate their choice of life style showcases how submissive this society can be at times. The "Lottery" shows this idea. This horrible tradition occurs annually and has occurred annually for many generations yet people are to afraid to question the morality of what they are doing. This story ends with the stoning of a woman that when finally faced with the consequences of the submissive culture shes been participating in, she finally decides to question her surroundings even tho it is way too late.
Author, Shirley Jackson conducted a short story titled, “The Lottery”, where a local town prepares to participate in a yearly celebration of a lottery. As the story progresses, the protagonist, Tessie Hutchinson, pulls the ‘winning’ ticket which leads to her being stoned to death by the townspeople. Jackson states “some people remembered…some people believed…others believed…” in which to showcase that the event once had a greater importance, however as years have passed on, the ritual that tied into this event had been completely forgotten. This meant that although this tradition originated with a ritual, it began to become less of a necessity; meaning its purpose was becoming less of a purpose and more of a meaningless action. Parts such as the children breaking into a “boisterous play” as they collected stones for the event showed their obliviousness to the situation. The idea of a tradition losing its purpose and being used in ignorance still takes place today. Many African-American descendants have felt as though many non-blacks have fallen into cultural appropriation by actions such as using traditional hairstyles in a ‘disrespectful’ manner. Certain hairstyles and headdresses, such as box braids, that originated in African tribes held much significance to one’s identity; for example a hairstyle would present someone’s status, wealth, and personality. However, as decades passed on, these hairstyles’ significance had been forgotten and was merely worn for fashion purposes. This expresses Jackson’s theme on how the importance of an idea, tradition, or action begins to decrease as the unawareness of a new generation takes play.
ReplyDeleteIn the short story "The Lottery" , written by Shirley Jackson, a small town is undergoing an annual tradition of what seems to be a regular “lottery”. With the whole town including main character Tessie Hutchinson going about their day indifferently, the general mood of the story seems to be peaceful. But with small hints of eerie symbolism, the author quickly reveals that the lottery is really a annual drawing for someone to be publicly stoned by the whole village. From the moments in which Tessie draws the wrong ticket from the black box or the moment in which the whole village turns on her blindly; the story reveals a strong theme about how often times traditions trump the love and loyalty of family and friends.
ReplyDeleteIt is evident in the story that this annual lottery is a strong tradition. Being that the box is “beaten up” and barely even black anymore because of all the years of use, it symbolizes just how loyal these villagers are to the tradition. So loyal that they are Unwilling to replace the box itself but willing to replace the wood chips ; the village fails to completely uphold the original tradition. But due to their attachment to such a relic, the villagers never come to question why they even uphold such a tradition.
Even more illogically, the lottery itself strongly symbolizes how easily traditions can be passed down through generations unquestioningly. Not once does a single villager even question just how cruel or illogical the idea of a innocent civilian’s life being lost at the expense of the “luck of the draw”.
The story’s theme strongly connects to the present because even to this day cultures follow illogical traditions blindly. With often times no consideration, it’s apparent how cruel traditions such as the stoning of women and gay men in middle eastern countries still exist. When raised on such strong traditions, how can you know any better? You don’t know, you just do. And in my belief our generation should begin to take steps in advancing morally in order to overcome traditions that divide us culturally.
In the short story The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson, a normal day in a small village turns into a deadly stoning. Every year, a tradition takes place in the village in which the heads of each family choose their fate by picking a piece of paper from a black wooden box. If one of the heads paper contains a black dot, their family has now entered “the lottery”. In this case, Tessie Hutchinson was chosen from her family and was stoned to death. In the time that this story was written, the second world war was taking place as well. With this, the process of picking people at random to sacrifice themselves in the lottery can be related to the process of picking soldiers randomly to draft to battle. Jackson also used symbolic actions with not only Tessie Hutchinson, but the entire village with the act of conformity. Even though Jackson expresses that the original purpose for the lottery had been basically forgotten through time, the village people simply accommodated to the tradition without thinking twice. Tessie Hutchinson seems to be the only person the be against the lottery in most of the story, but if she wasn’t the victim in this situation, she would’ve most likely stoned the chosen candidate with everyone else. Tessie had already conformed to the ritual, but with her paper having the black dot, she changed her mind and exclaimed that the tradition “wasn’t fair”. The stories theme can be related to society today such as when people ignore politics and go along with social norms, but not until they are affected personally is when they feel there is a need of change.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a wonderful share. Your article has proved your hard work and experience you have got in this field. Brilliant .i love it reading. dudoanxsmb.com
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