... or challenge the tradition of the lottery. What change there is to the lottery seems to be minimal, and Jackson uses the slips of paper to symbolize that change itself without serious critical thinking is just as damaging as no change at all.The change from the chips of wood to ... more easily into the black box" (566). Nothing significant in the tradition itself has been changed, so when Mrs. Hutchinson "snatched a paper out and held it behind her," (572), that paper with a "black spot on it" (572) seals her fate as much as a chip of wood would have done. The fact ... that she draws a s...

• Word Count: 874
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... tradition has been forgotten, the basics have remained the same. The lottery still takes place each year on the same day, June 27th; the slips of paper for the drawing are prepared the night before by the same man, Mr. Summers, who has been doing the lottery for years. Also, the drawing has ... they simply forget the person who had been stoned and get on with their lives. A black box has always been used to hold the slips of paper for the lottery. "The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put ... . Summers ca...

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

... thing and are interchangeable. Death we find contained in a shabby black box and sin just happens to come along as a black dot on a square of plain paper. This lottery Shirley Jackson writes about has a totally different outcome then most conventional lottery .The lottery is played to actually pick out that years sacrificial "human" ... lamb. The black box that holds all the folded paper with the names of the town folks is the perfect symbol of death; not only is everyone's name in it but no one knows when their ... children one of which is married so this child draws with her husbands...

• Word Count: 826
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to draw they are silent and not looking around. In other drawings there is an excitement and people stain to see how others react. Many people take their paper and don't look at it, showing their desire not to rush what is about to happen. When everyone has draw their piece of ... paper then people start asking who has it and straining to find the "winner". The reaction of the Hutchinson family is not of a normal winning family. The husband ... stands quietly as his wife proclaims that it isn't fair and that he didn't have enough time to take the paper he wanted. It is abundantly clear ...

• Word Count: 1119
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... to draw they are silent and not looking around. In other drawings there is an excitement and people stain to see how others react. Many people take their paper and don't look at it, showing their desire not to rush what is about to happen. When everyone has draw their piece of ... paper then people start asking who has it and straining to find the "winner". The reaction of the Hutchinson family is not of a normal winning family. The husband ... stands quietly as his wife proclaims that it isn't fair and that he didn't have enough time to take the paper he wanted. It is abundantly clear ...

• Word Count: 1053
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... something like money or prizes, but in this particular story, the untraditional lottery winning means someone will lose their life. Each head of household, usually a male, is require to draw a paper from a black box. The family representative who draws out the slip with a black dot will then redraw. This time, the black box contains enough white slips representing each member of ... the family minus one, which will be replacing with a slip containing a black dot. Whatever family member draws the paper with the black dot is the final winner but their winning will result in being stoned t...

• Word Count: 670
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of feeling towards the lottery. The only emotion that they really seem to show is one of a slight uneasiness when the actual picking of the slips of paper begins. One of the women, Mrs. Hutchinson, even forgot that the lottery was being held today. Even when the townspeople found out that it was Tess ... stones and throw them at her so that they could get on with their day. Also, their attitude toward the black box that holds the slips of paper was one of indifference. "The black box grew shabbier each year; by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to...

• Word Count: 717
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . 5) Mr. Summers reads the names of families and the head of the family comes to draw the paper. 6) Bill Hutchinson gets the paper with black spot and Tessie Hutchinson stouts that it wasn't fair. 7) Each member of Hutchinson family draws the paper. 8) Tessie Hutchinson gets the paper with the black spot and people stone her to death. Tone: Peacefulness and tranquility in what the ... ...

• Word Count: 506
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... a list and as their name is read they come up to the black box and remove a piece of paper from inside. No one is allowed to look at the paper they drew until they have finished drawing. The unlucky family head that drew the paper with a spot on it is then required to draw again, this time out of only his family. The ... winner, or should I say loser, who has the piece of paper with the black dot on it is then taken to the center of the square where they are then stoned. I really enjoyed reading this story. The way she made you ... ...

• Word Count: 351
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... . Davy waits with the women and children. His immaturity is underscored in the help he receives during the drawing. After the drawing of the Hutchinson name, Davy pulls his own paper out of the box, assisted by a member of the community. Mr. Summers directs a town person, "Harry, you help little Dave" (272). Davy comes "willingly" to the box, for he is ... , "Davy put his hand into the box and laughed" (272). The community continues to guide Davy in his participation. Mr. Summers tells Davy to take "just one paper" (272). Harry Graves takes the paper from Davy and holds it for him. Davy's...

• Word Count: 845
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.'' This is a description of a shabby black box where the people drew strips of paper from to decide who is the ''winner''. It was very old and even older than the oldest member of the town. The black color denotes death, and the box revolves ... hypocrisy and human weakness. The lottery makes an absolutely unwilling, hypocritical woman bear the burden of the community's ritual murder. Tessie is the one who chooses the marked strip of paper and immediately loses the respect of people and also her id...

• Word Count: 1240
• Approx Pages: 5

... a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. When the people were asked to get in like to pick a paper, they had done it so many times, " they half listened to the directions," (Jackson 235). For generations the lottery was always performed on the twenty-seventh of June, but the ... . Hutchinson on the other hand did not speak or even try to take her place in the lottery, "Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. Bill Huthinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd."(Jackson 237). When ...

• Word Count: 1144
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... communities. The story begins very light-hearted but has a surprising ending. The people of the town are gathering to determine whose life will be sacrificed by randomly selecting pieces of paper from a black box. Jackson said the purpose of the story was "to shock the story's readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives ... 27 is a date which occurs mid-way between the summer solstice and . After the papers are drawn, people look at them and try to determine who chose the piece of paper with the black dot- black again symboliz...

• Word Count: 963
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... talking amongst themselves. The event then starts and names begin to be called out. Everyone takes a turn going up to the front and picking out a piece of paper from a box. When everyone opens their paper, one person gets one with a small black dot on it. We then see what this tradition is when everyone picks up stones and proceeds to kill this ... person. The one who picks the paper in this story was Tessie Hutchinson. When everyone gets ready to start throwing the stones, she starts yelling, "It isn"t fair, it isn"t fair." She is trying to rebel against ... ...

• Word Count: 499
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... a big deal to her and that he isn't the one that's going to get the black dot. It isn't until the town is ready to open up the slips of paper that Mrs. Hutchinson realizes her family is the one at risk. When it was announced that her husband got the black dot she shouted, "You didn't give him time ... enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair" (Jackson par. 47). Mrs. Delacroix says, "Be a good sport, Tessie" and Mrs. Graves says soon after, "All of us ... ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the different activities in the town, such as dances, Halloween parties, and heading the teenage club. He is also in charge of running the lottery. Making up the slips of paper that will go into the black box, and conducting the actual lottery, are his two most important jobs. He greets everyone with a smile, and makes "small talk," in ... Bill Jr. and Susan, realizing that one of their parents would be the "winner," "beamed and laughed, turning around to the crown and holding their slips of paper above their head" (138). Starting this tradition early with children would be important to...

• Word Count: 1102
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... symbolism; including the black box, the three legged stool, and the stones. One example of a symbol in the story is the black box that the villagers draw their slips of paper out of. This box represents the tradition of the lottery, it is old and falling apart but the villagers will not replace it no matter what. The box can't be ... death and darkness. It symbolizes death because it eventually causes the death of an individual in the village every year. All the villagers know that there is one slip of paper in the black box which has a black circle on it. The person who has the misfort...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... story is full of horrific possibilities and it is these possibilities that make it more interesting. For instance, the little boy Davy, too young to even hold his slip of paper properly, could have been the one to "win" the lottery instead of his mother. The fact that children even take part in this ritualistic violence is chilling. And for the ... talking about giving up the lottery. Old man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. He doesn't like change. Mr. Summers conducts the lottery by preparing the slips of paper for the black box and Mr. Graves is the postmaster who helps...

• Word Count: 483
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , or race has nothing to do with it Death shows no favoritism; it all comes down to the luck of the draw. The eldest Hutchinson children hold "their slips of paper above their heads in celebration" (83). Seeming not to care that their good luck means that another member of their family is doomed. Even if it means that the other ... one instinctive urge, that of survival. When Tessie was in no danger she was gossiping with the other ladies and even encouraged her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. When Tessie wins the lottery; she pleads for another chance and screams for mercy. She...

• Word Count: 1008
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... with Shirley Jackson's view of her society. "The Lottery" is a story that takes place in a small foreign town on a warm and sunny day; you will see further down in the paper the significance of the weather. The story was used to express many controversial ideas and conflicts that can make people think about the culture that they are currently living in ... story that mean more than they appear to. One of the most important things in the story of "The Lottery" is the box that contains all of the slips of paper for the lottery. This box represents the tradition of the lottery; there is no...

• Word Count: 750
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... end. Another equally important, effective and powerful tool that Jackson utilizes is symbolism. Throughout "The Lottery" a number of symbols can be clearly identified. The back dot on the piece of paper along with the black box represents or foreshadows death. Similarly, "the chips of wood, that had been used for generations" has been altered; instead, the villagers are using "slips of ... paper." This undoubtedly symbolizes a change in tradition because "the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago." Through close interpretation one can also realize that most of th...

• Word Count: 607
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... one instinctive urge, that of survival. When Tessie was in no danger she was gossiping with the other ladies and even encouraged her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. (338) When Tessie wins the lottery; she pleads for another chance and screams for mercy. She demands that her daughters take their chances as well, which is indicative of regression ... toward our basic instinct of survival. (341-342) The pieces of paper that are lifted away by the breeze is not only symbolic of the ease with which life can be taken but is also symbolic of vast civilizations that were doomed ... ...

• Word Count: 454
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... lottery took less than two hours. The children were picking up stones and gathering them for the lottery (foreshadowing). Later on, when everything is setup, every person had to pick a paper from "the black box" (foreshadowing), even the children. All along, it seems that noone wanted to be the winner of the lottery. And at the end we realize that the ... winner who picked the "lucky" paper from the black box would get stoned. It was a woman named Mrs. Hutchinson who got stoned by her fellow comrades and family members. This relates to the theme because we ... ...

• Word Count: 797
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... end. Another equally important, effective and powerful tool that Jackson utilizes is symbolism. Throughout "The Lottery" a number of symbols can be clearly identified. The back dot on the piece of paper along with the black box represents or foreshadows death. Similarly, "the chips of wood, that had been used for generations" has been altered; instead, the villagers are using "slips of ... paper." This undoubtedly symbolizes a change in tradition because "the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago." Through close interpretation one can also realize that most of th...

• Word Count: 564
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... happens once a year to escape the sin of all the townsmen. To place all the sin on one individual who is picked by luck and chance. Whoever draws the unlucky paper surrenders and gets stones thrown at them until they die. This is known to all the townsmen as a way to clean everyone's soul. The characters in the story are not ... that it was unfair. Due to her outrage the luck of the lottery went in the opposite favor and she was the "lucky" one who chose the wrong slip of paper. She was the sacrifice. The townsmen do not disagree with the way the lottery played out because she was disob...

• Word Count: 402
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School