Critical Analysis of “the Lottery”
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Critical Analysis of “The Lottery”
In the short story “The Lottery,” author Shirley Jackson creates a very shocking and horrifying mood through the use of characterization, setting, and the them of the individual versus society, which is portrayed in the story as scapegoating. She writes as idf the events taking place are common to the town. C The story was very upopular when first published, mostly because of the fact that people did not understand it. The story of the all-to-familiar town, ordinary in every way except for the ritualistic murder taking place has since grown great popularity, even being adapted for television, balet, and radio (Lethem 1-2).
Shirley Jacksons short story entitled “The Lottery” was published in an issue of “The New Yorker” on June 28, 1948. Because it was such a controversial piece, the story caused an uproar resulting in hundreds of letters sent to Jackson. These letters told of how the story was horrifying and terrible to read. Most of them, however, wanted to know if the events taking place in the story realty happened and if they could go watch them. “One of the most terrifying aspects of publishing stories is the realization that they are going to be read, and read by strangers. I had never fully realized this before, although I had of course in my imagination dwelt lovingly upon the thought of the millions and millions of people who were going to be uplifted and enriched and delighted by the stories I wrote. It had simply never occurred to me that these millions and millions of people might be so far from upoifted that they would sit down and write me letters I was downright scared to open; of the three-hundred-odd letters I received [the summery “The Lottery” was published] I can only count thirteen that spoke kindly to me, and they were mostly from my friends” (Jackson 253).
The life of Jackson was a very big influence on her style of writing. She was fascinated with the paranormal and even voodoo and witchcraft. Jackson had a strange fascination of the psychology of human beings as well. She noticed the “disturbed, disposed, nisunderstood, or thwarting” characterists of people and of people to each other (Lethem 1). The village portrayed in “The Lottery” is said to be the same village where Jackson resided. She was a mother of four, married to Stanley Edgar Hyman. She was somewhat of a social outcast in her town. Eventually, her psyche was reshaped by the hostility and persecution of the villagers of the town (Lethem 4). Even before she moved to the town, Jackson had an obvious split in her personality. One side of her was a fearful, shy one which she brought to life in many of her stories. The other side of her was almost a direct contrast, being expulsive and bitter. This side of Jackson drank and smoked, rejected society, and this is the side of her that was fascinated by majic and voodoo. This is the side of her that is represented by Tessie Huchinson in “The Lottery” (Lethem 3). This story in particular best depicts Jacksons view on people. A reader can see that she views life as irony and notices the evils and darkness that lurks within every individual (Hilton 250). “To put it most simply, Shirley Jackson worte about the mundane evils hidden in everyday life and about the warring and subsuming of selves in a family, a community, and sometimes even a single mind” (Lethem 1).
The story begins with a very cheerful, energetic atmosphere where the reader expects that something happy or fun is about to happen. The men are standing around talking “planting and rain, tractors and taxes” and the women talk of the gossip in the town. The children are running around playing and gathering rocks, which foreshadows what is to come in the story. The black box is then brought out by Mr. Summers and the village draws slips of paper. This is where the reader begins to see that this may not be such a pleasant lottery due to the tension and nervousness of the crowd. When it is finally realized by the crowd that Tessie is the one who has been chosen, it is finally realized by the reader what the lottery is actually for. The villagers then stone Tessie to death, thus ending the story (Friedman 190-191). Just after Tessie is selected, we as readers start to understand the fact that she is the scapegoat in the story. She shows that a person will try anything to save their own life by pleading to Mr. Summers to include her daughter and husband in the drawing to better her chances of living (Friedman 192). “…when the chips are down, everybody wants just one thing — to save his own skin” (Cervo 2). This is a horrifying notion in itself; the ritualistic killing of one of their own. In the story, however, this horror is greatly amplified by the way it is set up. For one, the horrifying context of the stories conclusion is not graphically foreshadowed through the actions of the characters throughout the beginning of the story (Mazzeno 3) “Any hints of inner turmoil are merely suggested by the actions of the characters” (Mazzeno 3). Another important trait of the story is the fact that the plot is never well developed and stays rather simplistic. This makes the reader believe that the lottery is just a regular occurrence. The great shock of the reality of what is really going on is then cast upon the reader with a very unexpected turn of events (Brooks and Warren 250). The context of the story is very open and objective causing it to seem to be a direct attack on the destructive social behavior of humans. This is almost self evident through the simplistic plot contrasted by the unexpected conclusion (Nelles 3). It was also important for Jackson to reveal as little judbement from the people as possible. To do this, she used an objective, third-person style of narration which helps to keep the audience oblivious to the events to come. Should she have chosen not to do this, the reader would understand the feelings of the characters and the shock would not have been as amplified (Mazzeno 3).
The lottery takes place in a New England village, although we as readers are not told a name or specific place. This is important because it makes the audience realize that this could be happening right around them and they could not even know it. The lottery has been taking place ever since the start of the town. It has always been a tradition. This reinforces the theme of the individual versus society and the notion of mob mentality. The villagers think that since it has been done this way for so long, there is no reason to break the tradition. The undoubtable plausibility of this town being a real one is important because it makes the events increasingly shocking and helps us as readers to believe