Shirley Jackson Essays & Research Papers

Foreshadowing in Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'

1 Page 410 Words

All traditions have an intention and a purpose dedicated to the current time period, but it may come to a point where practice is no longer justified. In 'The Lottery', a short story written by Shirley Jackson, a rural town of 300 is 'celebrating' the killing of one member, which is believed to ensure a profitable harvest for the year....

Literary DevicesShirley JacksonThe Lottery

374

Use of Irony in Shirley Jackson's Short Story ‘The Possibility of Evil’

2 Pages 977 Words

In his novel ‘Shibumi’, author Rodney William Whitaker writes, “Irony is fate's most common figure of speech”. Irony is present in almost every situation imaginable—from the small talk made while waiting in line to the foundation of some of the most well-known, acclaimed pieces of literature in history. Simply put, irony is a contrast between expectation and reality— when what...

IronyShirley JacksonShort Story

195

Analysis of Biography and Literary Works of Shirley Jackson

2 Pages 747 Words

Shirley Jackson was born on the 14th of December, in 1916, in San Francisco, California. She was a bright daughter of Leslie Jackson and Geraldine. Her parents were conservative country-club people, who raised their children in luxuries. Shirley’s childhood world was ruined by her vapid mother who was disappointed by her daughter as Shirley was accidentally conceived. Her mother went...

Shirley Jackson

433

Analysis of 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson

2 Pages 1151 Words

When Shirley Jackson's chilling story 'The Lottery' was first published in 1948 in The New Yorker, it generated more letters than any work of fiction the magazine had ever published. Readers were furious, disgusted, occasionally curious, and almost uniformly bewildered. The public outcry over the story can be attributed, in part, to The New Yorker's practice at the time of...

Shirley JacksonThe Lottery

504

Shirley Jackson critiques dystopian society

2 Pages 1047 Words

Shirley Jackson uses “The Lottery” as an allegory for the dystopic inclinations in society, as well as utilising features of the horror genre to emphasise the harsh depictions of violence displayed. Publishing this story close to the Holocaust was retrospective and reflected on highlighted the unbridled nature of justifying an act of brutality. Furthermore, “The Lottery” commentates on the violence...

DystopiaShirley Jackson

432

The Weight of Societal Pressure on Individuals

3 Pages 1562 Words

Shirley Jackson’s short story and Salman Rushdie’s essay both pass on the message that society is able to impose rules and mindsets that are driven by factors such as religion due to it having a massive following. Individuals in a society avoid going against flow of the society so it is easy to find themselves conforming to something they don’t...

Salman RushdieShirley JacksonThe Lottery

219

The Lottery Essay

1 Page 590 Words

The village lottery culminates in a violent murder each year, a bizarre ritual that suggests how dangerous tradition can be when people follow it blindly. Before we know what kind of lottery they’re conducting, the villagers and their preparations seem harmless, even quaint: they’ve appointed a rather pathetic man to lead the lottery, and children run about gathering stones in...

Shirley Jackson

209

Tradition in Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Jackson's "The Lottery"

5 Pages 2450 Words

Throughout the world People do things for various reasons. Belief, survival, religion, peer pressure, culture or tradition, are some of the reasons the people carry out things. People have various traditions such as Christmas, Easter Day and so forth. Some people have strange or out of the ordinary traditions. The two short stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and A...

Shirley JacksonThe Lottery William Faulkner

478

Shirley Jackson essays