The complaint of Mrs. Hutchinson at the end of the story, "It isn't fair," could be called poetic justice: after all, she has taken part in "The Lottery" and now reaps what she has sown, recalling another Scriptural verse: "Judge not, lest ye be judged" (Matthew 7:1). The sinister authority in the village, however, will not allow for any reflection or consideration of this kind. As Jackson writes, "Old Man Warner was saying, 'Come on, come on, everyone.' Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him. 'It isn't fair, it isn't right,' Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her" (Jackson 228). The plight of Mrs. Hutchinson is all too common: a willing participant in the lottery up till now (when she was the one who had stones in her hands -- not the one being stoned), she realizes too late the implications of what they have all been doing. By stoning (judging) others, they risk being stoned (judged) themselves. Hers was the bad decision to participate -- and now that bad decision has returned to condemn her. In a symbolic sense, then, stoning in "The Lottery" is a representation of the horror in human nature. The old world called it Original Sin, but the new Protestant world (of America) attempts in many different ways to flee this sense of sin and corruption. Jackson's "Lottery" simply brings the sin and horror to the surface and recognizes the way all people blithely take part in it. It is almost as if the act of stoning were a compulsion...
"The Lottery" is full of villagers who would rather throw stones than seriously think about why they do it. "Throwing stones," rather, becomes a way for the people to vent act out their viciousness.
Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a masterful short story that tricks its reader initially, and later surprises the reader into the understanding of the dynamics of scapegoat. The value of the book lies in its narrative technique that engages the reader dramatically in the textual process in such a manner that the reader participates in the act of scapegoat by means of identification with the townspeople (Lenemaja 1975). Simultaneously, when the
Lottery and the Rocking Horse Winner An Analysis of "Luck" in "The Lottery" and "The Rocking Horse Winner" Both Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and DH Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner" are stories about luck -- and yet in both stories that "luck" turns out to be rather unfortunate -- or, ironically, "unlucky." This paper will examine the concept of luck in both "The Lottery" and "The Rocking Horse Winner" and show how
Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner In what ways are the two shorts stories by Shirley Jackson and DH Lawrence comparable and dissimilar? In "The Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner" there will be analysis of the differences and similarities in setting from a fictional perspective across the two short stories. What are the settings in The Lottery and The Rocking-Horse Winner? Where do both stories take place? When do both stories take place? What comparisons and
She is right in rebelling against her neighbors. The lottery is not fair, and even if it is traditional, it is cruel and frightening. Tessie is also fearful and desperate, because she does not want to die. Jackson shows her fear and her desperation when she writes, "I think we ought to start over,' Mrs. Hutchinson said, as quietly as she could. 'I tell you it wasn't fair. You didn't
Tessie's rebellion, writes Kosenko, beings with her late arrival at the lottery, a faux pas that raises suspicions of her resistance to everything that the lottery stands for (Kosenko pp). By choosing Tessie Hutchinson as the lottery's victim and scapegoat, Jackson reveals the lottery to be an ideological mechanism that serves to defuse the average villager's deep, inarticulate dissatisfaction with the social order in which he lives by channeling it
The victim protests that it is not fair when it is her own fate that is at stake, not when another person might be selected. The character's in Jackson's town are named, and have more distinguishing characteristics than the vague protagonists of Omelas. But because they are so utterly unaware of the moral consequences of their actions, the reader does not feel much compassion towards them, unlike the residents of
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now