The Lottery
Shirley Jackson, born in San Francisco in 1919, spent most of her early years in Burlingame, California. She was always interested in writing and even won a prize for poetry at the age of twelve. She started college at the University of Rochester but left after a period of depression, that would come back to haunt her throughout her adult life. She later attended Syracuse University; she was able to write for the student literary magazine. She finished her degree and married Stanley Human in 1940. They both had active literary careers and resettled in Vermont where Jackson's husband taught literature at Bennington College. Their first child was born in 1941; they eventually had four children. Jackson is best known for her short story "The Lottery." Some reports say that the setting for the story is the village where she and her family settled, in Vermont. The main character of the story is Mrs. Hutchinson, or "Tessie". She is a non-descript housewife with no defining characteristics setting her apart from the other women. All of the women in the story are portrayed as subordinate to their husbands; playing a lesser role in the community. This is illustrated, by women who are described as wearing "faded house dress
In a world such as ours, murder and suicide (or sacrifice) is illegal. The primary theme of this short story is to reveal man's need for a scapegoat or a sacrifice. However, the reader never does learn why that day is important. " In addition, the women are all referred to as "Mrs. At one point, his wife argues with the official, saying that their daughter and her husband should have to take their chances too. Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery" is, ". She is clearly afraid for her own life, as it is established that the Hutchinson's are the winners, she tried to force her daughter and son-in-law to draw to help increase her own odds. Their name suggests innocence and goodness as if the whole activity might be evil. Each member of the Hutchinson family, including the children, draws a slip of paper. She does not appear to be upset with the lottery as a whole, in fact she demands that everyone should draw again as her husband did not have time to pick the slip he wanted. The story was emotionally compelling; the fact that sacrifices secures a way of life. Adams is the name of the couple who timidly suggests that other villages are doing away with the lottery.
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Acceptance Essays
