Literary technique Essay

When maven thinks of a lottery, they imagine upgradening a large sum of money. Shirley capital of Mississippi uses the setting in The lottery to herald an ironic cease. The peaceful and legato townspeoplespeopleshipspeople described in this business relationship has an annual lottery, and you cant possibly guess what the prize isThe author foreshadows an ironic ending at the very beginning by establishing a cheerful setting.The story occurs near ten oclock on June twenty-s eveth, a time of daylight that is very bright and joyous and a time of year that is tender and makes people feel happy. The towns physical setting too contributes to the over each normal musical note of the story. The grass is described as high up green, and the flowers atomic number 18 blossoming profusely.An ironic ending is also foretold by the towns setting being described as one of normalcy. The town square is described as being between the dapple potency and the bank every normal town has t hese buildings, which are essential for casual functioning.The townspeople also establish a normal, comfortable setting for the story. The children are doing what all typical kids do, playing boisterously and gathering rocks. The woman of the town are doing what all stereotypical females do, exchanging bits of gossip. The men are being modal(a) males by chatting close to boring day-to-day tasks like planting and rain, tractors and taxes. disdain this comfortable and normal setting, there are hints of the towns unusualness that foreshadow a surprise ending. For example, the lottery is being held around ten oclock in the morning, which is an unusual time because in most towns all the adults would be working during mid-morning.In addition, the author mentions a bank and post office as secern buildings surrounding the town square, but what about a church or courthouse? Surely these two buildings would also be in any customs dutyal town square The lottery is compared to the towns ce lebration of Halloween, not a joyous celebration much(prenominal) as Christmas or Valentines Day but a alternatively dark, surreal, spooky, grotesque, and ominous holiday.The reader is told that school has let out for the summer, and yet the feeling of liberty sits uneasily with the children- which is strange, for no normal kid would beanything less(prenominal) than ecstatic over summer break. Finally, the children are said to be building a great pile of stones in one corner of the square, which is a very strange game for children to playing. All of these hints indicate that something strange and unannounced is going to happen, and they all make sense once we discover the storys final outcome.The introduction of the low box is a key turning point, giving the awful ominous answers to all those foreshadowing hints. When the black box is brought in, its said to be a tradition that no one liked to upset. The villagers kept their distance from the black box, as though they feared it. Also, when the black box is brought in, the mood and atmosphere of the residents noticeably changes. A gossip of conversation rolls through the crowd, and when the lottery official asks for help carrying the box, theres a hesitation before two men step transport to assist him.More and more the towns peculiarity begins to release apparent. For example, the names of certain residents hint at the irony and unfavorable events to come. Mr. Summers- the town clerk- has a last name that strangely coincides with the time of year- summertime. A Mr. sculpt helps Mr. Summers store the black box for the lottery, which eerily predicts a future resting place.The ending of The Lottery totally contradicts the setting established by Jackson in the first paragraph. From the authors extravagant detailing of the town, one would pay this lottery to be a chance for one lucky family to win some money. Instead, the superiors prize is death-by stoning. The portrayal of the residents at the end of the story is quite disturbing they go about killing the winner ritualistically, trying to finish quickly. They show no empathy at all theyre simply following an ancient ritual.The lesson in this story hits pretty hard. The Lotterys relationship to real life is that sometimes we are presented with traditions that fox been adhered to for as long as anyone can remember, and we forget the reason these usance were created in the first place. (As Old Man Warner said,Theres constantly been a lottery.)The problem is that circumstances can change and make these traditions outdated, useless, and even harmful. Think of the women trying to gain suffrage for their gender. If they had just let the tradition of only males voting continue, where would they lie in todays connection? We therefore must re-evaluate our traditions, questioning their original purpose otherwise were just letting ourselves be stoned.