On a warm sunny day, all the villagers gathered to kill their randomly chosen neighbor. They had repeated this ritual for many ages. What forced them to be so cold-hearted and narrow-minded? Why did the first readers of the short story get insulted with the plot? What does Shirley Jackson...
A short summary of “The Lottery” comes down to a description of a pretty violent tradition of one community. Despite a quite optimistic and positive beginning, the reader will soon find out that something feels off about it. The community uses the lottery to pick one person for a sacrifice....
In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the characters represent conformism and dangerous groupthink. Helen E. Nebeker, in her article “The Lottery: Symbolic Tour de Force,” states that the story largely follows traditions of scapegoating, which displays “the innate savagery of man lurking beneath his civilized trappings.” The main characters, such...
“The Lottery” themes and symbols revolve around the sinister ritual, its attributes, and the beliefs associated with it. For example, stones in “The Lottery” serve as a powerful symbol of the mob. Delacroix’s name is also symbolically charged, as it means “of the cross.” In this article, Custom-Writing.org experts will...
“The Lottery” essay questions can explore cultural, social, and even political issues, each open to countless interpretations. It’s not surprising: after all, the story is so controversial that the readers were sending hate mail to Shirley Jackson! To get a more precise direction for your essay, consider using “The Lottery”...