The Lottery

Although "The Lottery" begins with positive imagery, characters such as Old Man Warner begin to shift the tone as the story develops. Old Man Warner, a character who resists change, is the central...

Potential thesis statements for analytical perspectives on "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson could include: examining the story's critique of blind tradition, exploring the use of symbolism to...

The lottery in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" serves as a ritualistic tradition meant to ensure a bountiful harvest. Its significance lies in its critique of blind adherence to tradition, as the...

The village continues to participate in the lottery primarily out of tradition and an unexamined adherence to the past. Despite losing the original paraphernalia and forgetting parts of the ritual,...

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the protagonist is Tessie Hutchinson, who ultimately becomes the victim of the town's brutal ritual. The antagonist is the collective village, which blindly...

"The Lottery" evolves very little over time, reflecting the village's strong adherence to tradition. Minor changes include replacing wood chips with paper slips, losing some formalities like the...

Modern parallels to the events in "The Lottery" include societal practices that continue without question, such as hazing rituals, certain political policies, and systemic discrimination. These...

"The Lottery" conveys insights about the dangers of blindly following tradition. Jackson illustrates how societal routines and stereotypes can mask harmful practices. Characters like Old Man Warner...

In "The Lottery," villagers display a range of interpretations, feelings, and behaviors regarding the lottery tradition. Some accept it unquestioningly, seeing it as a necessary ritual, while others...

The phrase "lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," according to Old Man Warner, suggests that the annual lottery ensures a bountiful harvest. It implies a belief in a ritualistic human sacrifice to...

The social and political context of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is small-town American life in the mid-20th century. This horrifying short story can be seen as a critique of the mindless...

"The Lottery" criticizes blind conformity and societal values by depicting a community that upholds a cruel tradition of human sacrifice. Jackson uses this extreme scenario to highlight the dangers...

In "The Lottery," the term "tradition" in paragraph 5 represents the status quo or the way things have always been done, reflecting the villagers' reluctance to change. Despite the black box being...

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson provides several indications of the lottery's long history. The black box used for drawing names predates the oldest man in town, and the names of townsfolk used to...

The story mentions lotteries in neighboring towns to highlight the possibility of change and the village's resistance to it. While other towns are considering abolishing the lottery, indicating a...

This statement by Old Man Warner is "The Lottery" is an example of verbal irony. He claims that the neighboring villagers are acting like a pack of crazy fools in talking of giving up their...

The original purpose of the lottery in the story was to ensure a good harvest by sacrificing a member of the community, based on the belief that such a ritual would bring prosperity. The townspeople...

The stages of "The Lottery" start with preparing the wooden box and slips of paper to ensure fairness. The black box, though old and worn, symbolizes tradition. Next, the townspeople gather, and...

Omitting the village's name, location, and year in "The Lottery" creates a sense of universality, suggesting that the story's themes and events could happen anywhere and at any time. This anonymity...

In "The Lottery," the names and roles of Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves are significant as they symbolize contrasting elements. Mr. Summers, who conducts the lottery, represents life and the season of...

The central idea of Shirley Jackson's short story is one that is open to much debate.  When it first appeared in The New Yorker, it generated the most mail the magazine had seen at that...

Davy's mother, Tessie Hutchinson, has unfortunately chosen the slip of paper with the black spot on it, which means that she will become the community's scapegoat and die a brutal death. After...

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is an accepted tradition in the community, while bullying is not.

To a great extent, I think that this becomes one of the central themes of the story.  The idea of violence and cruelty being learned behaviors, passed down like tradition from old to young, is...

Everyone in the town participates in the lottery, and those that are old or infirm have someone draw for them.  The lottery is a village tradition.  It is such an important tradition that...

The lost original box and changing rituals in "The Lottery" signify the erosion of tradition and the blind adherence to outdated practices. The villagers continue the lottery without understanding...

One of the most elemental inferences that can be drawn from Old Man Warner's statements in "The Lottery" is that the town's tradition has gone on for some time without much in way of questioning....

It would seem that the main impact on the children was to teach them that the lottery was an established and honored tradition, something they should carry on as they matured and should pass on to...

In the Shirley Jackson story "The Lottery," the townspeople conduct the lottery annually out of tradition. Apparently towns nearby conduct similar annual events without question to the ethics or...

Mrs. Hutchinson wants to include Eva because that lessens the odds that she will be chosen.  More family members would be included in the draw, meaning that there would be less of a chance...

You might get a couple of different answers to this question because after the infusion of Islam in the American culture there have been at least 5 new poems published dealing with stoning from...

Connotation is the meaning associated with a word or phrase that goes beyond the literal or denotative meaning. Shirley Jackson uses connotation in several ways in her classic short story. One of...

Black has always been a color of evil.  The bad guys in westerns always wear the black hat.  :)  Black being the color of night when most evil doers crawl out of their holes in order...

The lottery is a cruel, senseless tradition in which citizens draw slips of paper out of a black box. The winner is stoned to death. In the story, citizens follow the lottery because it is part of...

In Shirley Jackson's story, "The Lottery," by the fact that the olriginal paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, but the people have replaced it and put it into use "even...

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," key characteristics of human nature and values include conformity, tradition, and the capacity for violence. The story reveals how people can blindly follow...

Jackson's choice of common people over sophisticated characters in "The Lottery" underscores the story's theme that ordinary individuals can perpetrate horrific acts. This choice makes the shocking...

The square is between the post office and the bank. There is no obvious symbolism of these buildings. Mr. Graves is the postmaster and therefore linked to the post office; his name "Graves" is...

Before the lottery itself, the story gives no hint of other violent activities in the town. The opening paragraphs make the town's usual activities appear as mundane as possible. Mr. Summers, the...

There are three reasons why Old Man Warner does not want to give up the Lottery.  First, Old Man Warner actually believes that the Lottery is good for the town. Twice he calls young people a...

The citizens of the town assemble "in the square, between the post office and the bank" for the lottery each summer. Mr. Summers, who runs a coal business in the village, handles the important...

This village hasn't given up on the practice of the lottery because it has always been done. This story's purpose is to illustrate the ineffectiveness of some of life's traditions. This village...

Shirley Jackson's short story draws to mind the horrible feeling of waiting for your fate to be determined. The story's characters have to endure this, and then partake in the barbaric ritual of...

In "The Lottery," major problems include the blind adherence to tradition and the violence it perpetuates. Language issues involve the use of euphemisms and casual dialogue to normalize the...

1) In "The Lottery," the women wear faded dresses and sweaters to symbolize that the lottery is a faded ritual, which has no real meaning. The fact that Mrs. Hutchinson wears her sweater over her...

Part of the beauty in Jackson's short story is that she does not give any direct reason as to why the ritual takes place. If she did, then it would contextualize the story. It would remove its...

There are many examples of the town's unwillingness to change.  During the lottery itself, Mr. Adams makes the comment that some towns have given up the lottery.  The oldest member of the...

"The Lottery" highlights the dangers of blindly following tradition, demonstrating how societal norms can perpetuate violence and injustice. The story reveals how individuals can become complicit in...

The box is an interesting part of this story, and the town's treatment of it is equally interesting.  I would say that in general, the people treat the black box with a mixture of wary respect...

Graphic organizers are visual maps of information where students enter facts that are meant to be organized and categorized. The idea is to be able to analyze the information contained in the...