The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Sample Essay

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Sample Essay One of the stories that a person cannot ignore is “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. It has its haters and lovers, but a few people can stay indifferent after reading it. The text was first published in the New Yorker in 1948 and it was named as a horror story. The plot of the story is connected with the random choice of a person that is stoned to death by the town. “The Lottery” is considered one of the best short stories of the twentieth century making the readers think about why how the lottery appeared in that place. Shirley Jackson is warning the readers about the future events long before the first horrifying facts are described in the story. The first hints can be found in the second paragraphs where she writes about the bricks and their form without the slightest explanation what they will be used for. It will exclude the chance for the reader to be surprised to the new things in the story. Such signs are used in various parts of the novel making the reader experience the emotions and feelings without even considering them. The part of the novel that explains the reasons for the lottery s the most interesting one. It’s missing in the story, so the readers become the coauthors and they provide their own thoughts and ideas while and after reading. There should be a person that anyone can blame and hate that is usually called a scapegoat. This story is a manifestation that people require to express all negative feeling and relieve their souls from aggression. The proof for this is the fact that people from the story don’t know the real reasons but they don’t stop the lottery. The author of the story emphasizes the fact that people are used to traditions. They want to do the same things and they don’t want to change anything even if someone has to die because of that. However, the hope for the better is present in the real world and it’s seen through the characters of people that refuse the lottery. However, the people that are not ready for the changes will always find reasons to stay where they are. For example, the two men were discussing another town where the lottery was cancelled, “The next thing, you know, they’ll be willing to go back to living in caves.” The main theme of the novel is the traditions that people don’t want to change or even think why they exist. The unquestionable tradition to play the lottery can be observed outside the story by almost every reader around the world. For example, people are used to Christmas trees and Easter eggs, but only a few know the reasons for using them on some specific dates. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is one of the most thought-provoking as it makes the readers provide own analysis and consider various variants of possible scenarios of what could happen if there wasnt a lottery.