Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes the plot of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and examines the theme of the story about rebellion against capitalism and capitalist patriarchs. The paper focuses primarily on Tessie, the chosen victim of the stoning ritual and how she is representative of this rebellion.

From the Paper:

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story of a senseless, superstitious, archaic ritual that is still practiced yearly in many villages at ten o'clock on the morning of June 27th (Jackson pp). Jackson begins by describing how the people of the village gather in the square on the clear and sunny morning of June 27th, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day, the flowers blossoming profusely and the grass richly green (Jackson pp). This first sentence paints such a quaint picture that it leads the reader to believe that this tale will be filled with joy and luck. The author informs the reader that in some towns, there were so many people that the lottery took two days, but this village, had only about three hundred people, so the whole lottery took less than two hours, "so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner" (Jackson pp). It sounds as if this is a kind of yearly gathering in which some type of prizes are awarded, for everyone gathers so hurriedly and matter of fact, such as Tessie Hutchinson."

More papers on Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery":

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• Analytical Essay # 61147 : "The Lottery"by Shirley Jackson"
• Book Review # 74661 : "Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

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