Literary Analysis - the Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Literary Analysis: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Before reading the story The Lottery I envisioned today's lottery system, where the prize involves winning a prize. The prize is normally a large sum of money or something that everyone desires. The setting puts the story in motion. The plot summary takes place in a small village of 300 townspeople. The lottery event happens every June. All households within the community are represented to randomly select from the infamous black box in hopes of receiving the grand prize. In the movie you see the children gathering stones and playing with one another. The title itself is ironic because the sought out prize is death. Ms. Jackson never reveals what type of lottery until the end of the story. Withholding information from the reader is a technique that drives this omniscient narrative. By withholding important details, it creates a tension that helps to ensure the reader will hold onto the story. Intrigue pulls the reader through to the very end. According to Critic Peter Boysen he refers to the irony in the story. He recalls how the setting is described as being a clear and sunny summer day. The reader is lead to believe that this was just another typical summer's day. The children are said to be gathering stones, the men telling jokes not laughing but rather smiling. According to Critic Catherine Duffy, the story uses suspense to have the reader thinking something is going to happen but instead something else happens. Peter also cites the use of Juxtaposition which is the placing of people, events, or objects next to one another in a story. The Lottery official Mr. Summers is helped by Mr. Graves, which both names signify opposing moods. I believe she purposely never reveals what kind of lottery takes place, however we know that entire village has to be present. The villagers gather the stones before the big lottery. She uses irony to show people the need to learn to open up and embrace change. This use of irony teaches us that because something may sound ok or good the end result could end up bad. The reader is unaware the person selected with the infamous black dot will be stoned to death by the entire village including winner's own family members. The story has the reader thinking that becoming a winner was a good thing, when in actuality the winner lost his or her life. I thought it was ironic as to how Tessie Hutchinson arrived late but was