... Most Dangerous Games" by Richard Connell and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Each of these short stories deals with the good and bad side of human nature. "Literature opens up a dark window to the soul- This is a good quote for the story "The Most Dangerous games." In this story there is a hunter named Rainsford that gets stuck on an island. It turns out that he ... , it didn't seem like he was that type of person. " Revealing more about what is bad in human nature than what is good." This is the other half of the quote that now relates more to the person that Rainsford has become. In ...

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• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The Dysfunctional Lottery Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", raises many questions in the back of a reader's mind towards the gruesome yet blind rituals of human kind. "The Lottery" clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning human kind's evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. Having said that it shows tradition, symbolism and settings. How could people live a life like that? Ms. Jackson shows how cold-hearted and ... women of the village are gathered together talking about taxes and farming. Jackson's description of the setting supports the theme of the story by displaying how h...

• Word Count: 556
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... beggining Jackson takes great pains to present her short story as a folk story. Slowly, it dawns on us, the terrible outcome of what she describes. The theme learned at the end of the story leads us to think of where the sanity of human beings lies. In addition, the most important conflict ... the summer", letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. The beauty of the day and the brilliance of nature is stressed by "clear and sunny,with fresh warmth....flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green." This provides the positive outlook ... Everyone is c...

• Word Count: 796
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... beggining Jackson takes great pains to present her short story as a folk story. Slowly, it dawns on us, the terrible outcome of what she describes. The theme learned at the end of the story leads us to think of where the sanity of human beings lies. In addition, the most important conflict ... the summer", letting the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. The beauty of the day and the brilliance of nature is stressed by "clear and sunny,with fresh warmth....flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green." This provides the positive outlook ... Everyone is c...

• Word Count: 801
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

1 In Shirley Jackson's short story, " The Lottery", there is a theme throughout the story about traditions that can some how lose their meanings because of the repetitions of everyday life. The author uses symbolism to make us aware of the pointless nature of traditions and how we become comfortable carrying them out. The lottery itself is symbolic of the self contradiction of human's thoughts and feelings between ... compassion on one hand and the thirst for violence and cruelty on the other. The title of the story some how makes us believe that the lottery is ... something good, like a pr...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

"The Lottery" The publication of Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," resulted in quite a stir, upsetting many people. Many readers furious and stunned sent numerous letters of complaints and objections after the story was published in The New Yorker. "The Lottery" portrays the dark side of human nature. Jackson claims that she wrote the story primarily to illustrate an example that even ordinary individuals ... have the ability to do monstrous things. Circumstances, pressures from social groups, such as friends, family, or mere acquaintances can negatively affect people. Her story s...

• Word Count: 940
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... their actions, they tend not to commit them. Another aspect of the deterrence argument, applies to criminals who have received the second harshest punishment available short of death, a life sentence. Without the threat of execution to hold over their heads, there is nothing to deter them from committing further terrible crimes ... and repopulate the earth, but be free of sin. God used the theory of deterrence. Another example would be Sodom and Gomorrah. In this story God tells Lot, who is free of sin, and his wife, to leave and not to turn back. When they leave the two cities ... but...

• Word Count: 2027
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

History has proven that there is strength within numbers. In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," the tradition of the lottery is blindly followed without any of the townspeople contesting the lottery. Because of the lush vegetation, ... must be known. In past generations, the lottery was annually held to ensure a good harvest by sacrificing some one from the town. Although not bluntly labeled as a human sacrifice by Jackson, the lottery is easily seen to be just that. A good example is when Old Man Warner says "lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" ... a good harvest, but it is obviou...

• Word Count: 698
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School