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  • Essay / Literary Analysis and Methods of Influencing Readers in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    Shirley Jackson's perception of man and society is reflected in her acclaimed short story “The Lottery”. Many of its scholars found this story astonishing and infuriating. Jackson discovers two general moods in this story: first, the astonishing truth of man's propensity to choose a substitute and second, society as a victim of customs and traditions. Since the beginning, we have witnessed and participated in many occasions where, in times of disruption and difficulty, society tends to seize on a substitute as a method to achieve its goals. The general population of the town had been informed that all together, in order for their harvest to be rich for the year, someone had to be sacrificed. By using suspense, writers have a habit of maintaining the attention of their readers throughout their work. It is a feeling of waiting for something dangerous or risky to happen. The motivation behind using this type of tension in writing is to make readers care more and more about the characters and shape a thoughtful relationship with them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay As a result, writers create situations that might compel readers to understand and read to understand what their beloved characters are facing. The story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson creates suspense until the end. In the village where the story takes place, the people are close and their traditions are essential. A lottery is held every year where one of them is selected and stoned to death by their friends and family. The beginning of the story is completely different from the ending. We see the villagers gathering with joy and vigor and we may tend to think that this is just a normal lottery for the village. This creates suspense when the reader realizes at the end of the story that it was not a simple lottery but a bet on a human life. The suspension is also felt when the black box is presented. Mr. Summers arrives at the square with the dark wooden box in his possession. We therefore immediately believe that it is of extraordinary importance because of the details given by the author. The villagers left a lot of space between themselves and the stool where the box was to be placed. The villagers also hesitated when Mr Summers asked for help holding the box. Right now, we have no idea what mess this will create. The lottery procedure itself is delayed in anticipation. We never know exactly what it is. The tension of this situation is based on the elusiveness of how individuals prepare for this occasion and the extraordinary arrangements that are made to prepare for it. For example, the night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves made up the pieces of paper and placed them in the briefcase, which was then transported to the safe of Mr. Summers' coal organization and locked. A lot of seemingly harmless activities throughout “The Lottery” suggest a difficult ending. In the second section, the children place stones in their pockets and make piles of stones in the town square, which seems like fair play until the real reason for the stones becomes clear near the end of history. Tessie's split-second late arrival at the lottery separates her from the group, and Mr. Summers' comment – ​​"I thought we were going to have to manage without you" – is a.