8/8/2019 Lottery by Shirley Jackson

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Jenny Le Novth, 2009

Lottery by Shirley Jackson

1. Selfishness & Mob/Crowd PsychologyOne important idea in the story Lottery is that human beings are selfish. We only object to

things when trouble comes upon us. This idea is shown when Tessie Hutchinson, wife of Bill

Hutchinson who won the lottery, suddenly starts shouting in the crowd about how unfair the

lottery was played. Before being the winners, Tessie was very jolly and content about the situation

that was going to occur later on in the day. Knowing this fact, it also tells us how hypocritical

humans can be at the same time being self-centered. The message in the story is that underneath

humans is evil whether it is in the past or future. We have the potential to be greedy, selfish, two-

face, everything. We can learn not to be so self-centered and more thoughtful towards others.

Mob/crowd psychology is another important theme. This theme is deep and hidden. In the

story, no one objects the tradition, no one questions the idea of stoning someone each year, and

no one is willing to change tradition. People blindly follow what they are asked to do. Those who

object the tradition are those who are facing the problem at that time, such as Tessie. The

message in the story tells us that we, humans are followers and we do what the other majority do.

We can learn to say what we believe in instead of imitating others because of the majority.

2. Irony & SymbolismIrony is one of the frequently used literary techniques by the author. In the story, situational

irony is shown when the Hutchinsons won the lottery. We expect by winning, theyd gain

something. Instead, it was the opposite. Winning in the lottery was really losing a life in their

village. The title itself is also ironic. The outcome in the story is not fair, instead of someone

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winning, they are stoned to death. By using irony in the story, it gives a whole new twist in the

story, fooling the reader who expected the total opposite.

The black box symbolises many things, making it a literary technique. The color itself already

symbolises death, the reaction of the villagers towards the box symbolises fear, the usage of the

box (every year) symbolises tradition, the physical appearance symbolises the age, these are

examples of what the black box represents. The box is losing color and growing shabbier each

year, but it is still practiced. Another object with significance in the story is rocks. Rocks

represent how primitive we are. Like cavemen who use rocks as a weapon, we use our instinct to

kill someone with rocks. One object can have so many meaning towards it even though it is just

an object. By using symbolism in the story, it leaves the reader in thoughts on the significance of

the object, words or person.

3. MediaThis story reminds me of a documentary my friend sent me called This World: Escaping

North Korea. The documentary tells different stories on the lives of North Koreans that are

happening now, their journey to escape South Korea for freedom and no poverty. The North

Koreans were brainwashed by the Government, who was telling them lies and threatening them.

They were constantly reminded of how grateful they should be about their life, when in reality;

they had no money, food, and proper shelter. They were kept uninformed about the rest of the

world to keep them staying in North Korea. They were restricted from watching many channels

on television, channels that would reveal the truth about what is happening around the world and

channels that would inspire them to become more independent. The Lottery and North

Koreans both accept that the lottery or their life is normal, therefore no one questioned about it.