Essay on Morals and Values in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Morals and Values in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson In Shirley Jacksons, The Lottery, human morals and values are thrown away all for the pride of winning something. What is it that they really win? When you win the lottery in this story, you actually win death by stoning. Isnt that ironic, people actually being competitive and getting excited about death in public. What morals or values do these people really have, and how are they different from what common society is thought today? The first to gather in the square on the day of the lottery are the children. The children, sweet, innocent children who do not know any better and are only taking part in this cruelty because they view it as a fun game. Then the adults†¦show more content†¦The main characters in this story also exhibit these same characteristics. Somewhere deep inside they have got to know the difference between right and wrong, but for traditions sake, they continue the stoning process. The black box symbolized tradition verses progress. The towns peo ple are repressed and cant grow because of the killing tradition. The story also has a literal conflict as Tessie Hutchinson is complaining about the cruelity and injustice, then the crime turns around and happens to her This womans small child is even taught the tradition when he throws pebbles at his mother. These people were involved in every day society and in church, yet they took it upon themselved to kill one another. In todays society the actions taken in this story would have been considered morally wrong and punishment for committing these crimes would be handed down by the court system. The judicial system of today would punish them with incarceration or death by leathal injection. This legal system was actually illegal, more of a marshal law. These people were ruling themselves. The best example is Mr. Summers, he made it a happy gathering, conducted all the civil activities, and then was also the executioner. He brings with all his justice and ruling, death. T he purpose of the lottery is to weed out the people and learn the cycle of life is to accept democracy. I feel that Shirley Jackson did an excellent job in identifying the injustice of thisShow MoreRelatedComparing The Most Dangerous Game By Richard Connell And The Lottery1080 Words   |  5 Pages Fiction Essay Outline Eng 102 Thesis: When comparing â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† by Richard Connell and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson. Both the authors stress the purity of life. How somethings are done just because, with no true value generation after generation. I. Introduction A. Thesis Statement B. â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† by Richard Connell C.† The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson II. Main Characters A. â€Å"The Most Dangerous Game† by Richard Connell 1. General Zaroff: Presider of the GameRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson847 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Lottery,† which is a famous short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, described the view of an annual lottery event in a small village. In the beginning of the story, on June 27 in each summer, the lottery occurs; all people in the village gather at the spare, and they express their excitement to find out the winner of the lottery. However, there is a totally surprising ending in the story of Shirley Jackson. The prize of the lottery is not any money or gift, which we expect. It is theRead MoreGreat Theme of Symbolism in the Short Story, The Lottery, by by Shirley Jackson1033 Words   |  4 Pagesgoal of most short stories is to convey a message or moral, but like any form of literature, some short stories are better than others. Out of all the short fictions read in the Grade 11 English curriculum, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is by far the most importan t story read because of the theme, the characters and the symbolism. The Lottery is a story about a community, who every year draws the lottery for someone in the village. A lottery is often associated with positive things such as prizesRead MoreThe Lottery, by Shirley Jackson1468 Words   |  6 Pagesfrowned upon for doing so. In Shirley Jacksons â€Å"The Lottery† she does exactly that by portraying themes like the inhumanity of violence and the tendency people have to follow traditions even when they do not agree with them. In a short biography about Jackson it says â€Å"The story was met with an avalanche of feedback, including hate mail and cancelled subscriptions. Many folks interpreted the story as an attack on the values of small towns America† (â€Å"The Shirley Jackson Page at American Literature†)Read MoreAn Analysis of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Flannery OConnors A Good Man Is Hard to Find1360 Words   |  5 PagesShirley Jackson The Lottery Shirley Jacksons short story The Lottery depicts life in a provincial American town with rigid social norms. Mr. Summers symbolizes everything that is wrong with the town; he represents blind adherence to ritual, social rigidity, and resistance to change. His name corresponds with the seasonal setting of The Lottery, too, drawing attention to the importance of his character in shaping the theme of the story. Summers is in charge of the central motif of the storyRead MoreEssay Tradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery1147 Words   |  5 Pagesis no logical reason to continue this fà ªte, as it holds little or no value.   With the passage of time the actual reasons have been lost or distorted, such as in the case of Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery.† Shirley Jackson’s short story, â€Å"The Lottery,† focuses on an outdated tradition, similar to the holiday of Thanksgiving; the town in her story observes a custom which holds little or no reasonable purpose in society. The lottery is performed every year, and the winner – instead of winning money orRead MoreThe Lottery, by Shirley Jackson and A Good Man Is Hard To Find, by Flannery OConnors1074 Words   |  5 PagesIn Shirley Jackson’s short story the Lottery and Flannery O’Conner’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†, there are a few aspects of a similar nature that attempt to tackle the nature essence of the human condition. Both short stories respectively portray two similar types of foreshadowing where one is random the other is premeditated, which leads these stories to their very surprising dramatic climax that is held until the end of each story. I believe that these important variables of both stories haveRead MoreEnglish1285 Words   |  6 Pagesevery one of us because we are persuaded by such advertisements. Robert Scholes of â€Å"On Reading A Video Text†, and Shirley Jackson of â€Å"The Lottery†, show appropriate examples of the world we live in today. Robert Scholes proves how distorted and misconceiving people construe the world through the â€Å"Lottery†, proving his idea of cultural reinforcement. In â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson, the small town of 300 people consists of a very active community, which is very routinely. The children go off toRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson And The Imprisonment Of The Child1233 Words   |  5 Pagesinfluenced by many ideologies. Some includes, religion, politics, economy, and moral/culture. However, all the ideologies that affect the society has one thing in common, which is tradition. Tradition makes up the very fabric of society. It is a practice that was established in the past and it is still continuing to be celebrated to the president day. For example, the lottery in the story â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson and the imprisonment of the child in the story â€Å"The Ones Who Walks Away fromRead MoreCompare Contrast Fiction Essay794 Words   |  4 PagesCompare Contrast: The Rocking-Horse Winner/The Lottery ENGL 102_B40: Literature and Composition Spring 2011 Michaela Gates L23562144 APA Gambling, whether for life or money, is risky and success is not guaranteed, even if you ‘win’. Two different tales both involving risk. 1. Gambling for something valuable - One for life and the other for money 2. Characters’ Personalities - Paul was hopeful and cared deeply for his