Literary Analysis Essay on The Lottery

Introduction

Many writers have taken the world of writing to a different realm through their writing of literature that is straight out of imagination. The writers, however, intertwined imagination at times with the occurrences that took place around them. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson has maintained its grip on readers decade after decade with people still relating it to the events of World War II. “The Lottery” has been one of the most renown short story in American culture and literature. Its adaptation for ballet, theater, television, and even radio is a true picture of how much it was a fan favorite. There was much criticism when the short story was released because people were still reeling from World War II and it was not quite clear if it was a fiction or a real story. This essay undertakes a critical analysis of the major fictional elements that are evident in the story.

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The Vulnerability of The Individual

Various themes are addressed in Shirley Jackson's lottery. One of the main ideas in the short story is how individuals are vulnerable to persecution by a group. Safety, according to Shirley, comes from being part of the group. This theme is explored through the experiences of the Dunbar family and the Watson family (Charters397). However, it is predominantly visible through Tessie's experience as a winner of the lottery that was always held yearly. The lottery held annually in this community breaks down the family unit's bonds and the community.That is evident when the families draw slips, and these families are pitted against each other in this draw(Charters 400). That shows the dissolution of the communal bond into each family for themselves. The break of the community bonds is visible when Tessie cries unfair draws and calls for a redo of the lottery. She is ready to sacrifice another family as long as her own family is safe. However, after the first round of the lottery is over, the families that were not "successfully" picked re-assimilated into the community and got into the group's safety.

Family bonds are broken in the second round of the lottery into an individual level. In the second round of the lottery draw, Shirley Jackson suggests that individuals of the chosen family are to draw a slip independently. The narrative highlights that it is now clear that it is every man for himself, as Tessie insists that her married daughter should participate in the draw as a part of the Hutchison family (Jackson 15). That is ironic since, as a mother, she is supposed to protect her daughter. However, the narrative points out that at this point, every individual is looking out for their skin, not considering the bond of family between each other.

It is finally brought to light that Tessie had drawn the marked slip. At this point, the rest of her family is re-assimilated into the community. She is left alone as an individual. Her family gets group immunity as the bonds of the community rejoin. Everyone is now against Terrie, including her own family, that is supposed to be by her side. When she is expelled from the community, it results in loss of bodily autonomy and a loss of sympathy. After winning the lottery, instead of Tessie being treated like an important person in the community, she is instead reduced to an obligation of the community(Ong 20). That is evident when Mr. Summers asks the community to finish quickly so everyone can go back to their lives. Her death is not treated as a tragedy by the community but rather as an inconvenience that needs to be dealt with. She is completely isolated from the community even as her pleas deliberately fall on deaf ears. Her son Dave is given a handful of pebbles to be a part of the stoning.

The problems of individuality are also visible in the experiences of Watsons and Dunbars, where the two families are vulnerable because they are not able to conform to community tradition. Tradition dictates that a patriarch should draw for their household. The lack of a patriarch for both families shows a level of vulnerability not experienced by the rest of the community hence marking them different from the rest of the community. However, in a society of conformity and tradition, Tessie sets herself aside as an individual, evident by her late arrival to the ceremony (Jackson 25). Even though her entrance was met with much humor, it disturbed the solemn air of the ceremony that was taking place. This isolation of herself from the expectations of the society increased the vulnerability of Tessie.

The Danger of Blindly Following Tradition

There are many traditions that we as humans often as we continue from our forefathers. Some traditions are harmless, like the borrowing of old items and a bride wearing white. However, some traditions are quite harmful, like the stoning in “The Lottery”by Shirley Jackson. The lottery calls for a violent murder each year, but the people of the town blindly continue with the tradition. There is not much that is known about the origin of the lottery. However, nevertheless, people of the community decide to preserve that culture (Jackson 53). Its preparations seem harmless when we see people preoccupied with the funny-looking black box and the children collecting gathering stones in the town square. They are adamant about stopping and asking themselves why they are coming to an open murder.

The townspeople do not make a big deal out of the murder, which is evident when Mr. Summers asks the community to finish quickly so everyone can go back to their lives. These ordinary folks that have come from their various activities will easily kill someone just because there has been a culture of doing so, no viable explanation(Charters 402). This ritual murder has become part of the fabric of the community evident with Old Man Warner. He is faithful to the rituals and believes that the villagers may move back to their primitive ways if they let go of their traditional lottery(Ong 11). The tradition causes unexplainable trauma to the families of the people that are to be stoned. That is evident where the first person to cast a stone at Mrs. Hutchinson when she was to be stoned is her son. That event will traumatize the child, and he may have to undergo much therapy to recover from such kind of trauma.

Conclusion

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a fictional book that addresses many societal issues. That is why it was important to undertake a critical analysis of the major fictional elements that are evident in the story. A view of how Shirley used fictional elements to captivate and the same time address various is essential. There are existing themes such as inheritance of some traditions from our predecessors that are quite harmful and will always injure individuals and families. She also talks about the vulnerability of a single individual when separated from the group. Various elements present how much it was a fan favorite. Such elements include the adaptation for ballet, theater, television, and radio. However, at the time of its release, the short story faced much criticism. That took place mainly because people were reeling from World War II hence confusing them to know whether the story was a fictional one or a real story.

Works Cited

Charters, Ann. "The Story and Its Writer." BrytewaveeReader, platform.virdocs.com

Jackson, Shirley. "Revealing Social Phenomena in the Story of ‘The Lottery’By." LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE (2017)www.eprints.uad.ac.id/15787/1/Proceeding_GSC.pdf#page=140

Ong, Wei Ann. "Using genre-based writing instruction to teach the writing of literary criticism." GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies 16.1 (2016).www.ejournals.ukm.my/gema/article/view/9272

Schofield, Libby. "It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”: The Affective Politics of Fear in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery." Verso: An Undergraduate Journal of Literary Criticism 9 (2018).www.ojs.library.dal.ca/verso/article/viewFile/8457/7272