Creating horror in the Lottery - 979 Words

Creating Horror Authors use a number of different tones, settings, themes, characterizations, and points of view in order to create a fictional world inside the readers head. We see these tools used in contrasting ways in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson. The distinctive techniques used in these short stories leave you feeling uneasy once you finish them. Using different methods, both authors create a story of horror for their readers. The tones of these stories vary quite a bit. The first sentence of â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† reads â€Å"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge† (226). Poe sets a powerful tone of revenge†¦show more content†¦Tessie’s fate is foreshadowed in the beginning of the story when Mr. Summers says â€Å"Thought we were going to have to get on without you† (134). Although many of the aspects that make up these short stories are different, both â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† and â€Å"The Lottery† make the reader think of the morals of the characters. If we were to observe the world throughout history and look into the varied cultures, behaviors, traditions, and rules we would be able to see the effects that those things had on their morals during those time periods. The characters in â€Å"The Lottery† have lost all sense of morality because of the rituals that they are performing blindly, in order to keep tradition. This is probably the most horrific part of the story because no reader can understand the mindset of these characters that leads to them participating in this unethical tradition. Poe writes of the immortal acts that Montresor commits with ease and satisfaction, leaving the reader cringing. In present day we think of immortality as cheating and lying, the thought of murdering someone for insulting you or ston ing someone to death because of tradition would never be considered. It’s horrifying to think that if we lived in a different time and age these things might not be immoral to us. The effective tone, setting, and narrative choice chosen by Poe and Jackson are what leave the reader on edge at the end of both of theseShow MoreRelatedThe Lottery Theme Essay836 Words   |  4 PagesIn both The Lottery, and The Possibility of Evil there is a very evident theme that is horror lies in the most everyday settings and situations. This is shown in The Lottery by the â€Å"lottery† being considered an everyday normal aspect of life.We know that the â€Å"lottery† is the act of a name being drawn from a box, and the person who is drawn is going to be stoned to death, with frankly no reason at all. Also in The Lottery, no one is emotionally phased to the cruelty shown in the town, and throughoutRead MoreAnalysis Of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery954 Words   |  4 Pagesthat enhance the overall transmission of the authors message. Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† displays a masterful usage of literary elements to better convey Jackson’s general purpose, such as through the deep symbolism and underlying theme; however, Jackson’s true provocation of emotion is accomplished through her quintessential use of point of view. The objective point of view is indispensable within â€Å"The Lottery† because of the creation of suspense, drama, and irony. To begin with, the first reasonRead MoreThe Horror of The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson1375 Words   |  6 Pagesvillagers took part in the traditional lottery drawing and one villager was picked for the prize – a stoning. In 1948, Shirley Jackson published this short story known as â€Å"The Lottery,† in The New York Times. The story’s plot shocked readers all over America as they learned of the horror happening in such a quaint town. Jackson purposely set this tragic event in this innocent setting to emphasize humanity’s cruelty. Using her appalling short story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson alarms readers with theRead MoreThe Lottery Literary Analysis1538 Words   |  7 Pagesday; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green† (Jackson). In this first sentence of the The Lottery Shirley Jackson establishes a pleasant illusion, creating a sense of serenity. Jackson proceeds to mention that children begin to gather in the vill age, frolicing and conversing about school. The initial scene and satirically labeled title, The Lottery, provide a somewhat satisfying first impression to the reader. The introductory scene is eminent to intentionally implementRead MoreThe Lottery By Shirley Jackson1355 Words   |  6 PagesThe Lottery Essay Andrew Lansley once said â€Å"Peer pressure and social norms are powerful influences on behavior, and they are classic excuses.† Most people tend to follow cultural customs because they have grown with them or it has been forced onto them with factors such as parents or their environment. However, is it always right to follow these customs even if they are in fact considered wrong? Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† is a short story about the cultural norms of a small community and itsRead MoreThe Fall House Of Usher And The Lottery By Shirley Jackson913 Words   |  4 PagesUsher and Shirley Jackson’s The lottery, both writers were meticulously keen on using setting as a driving force behind the narrative and also set the tone for the theme. Whilst both stories ended with tragedy of the protagonist, both writers chose different moods to ease the reader into the atmosphere of the stories. In Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe in his usual writing style did not beat about the bush before shoving the reader right into a world of horror with the first sentence of theRead MoreAn Analysis of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and Flannery OConnors A Good Man Is Hard to Find1360 Words   |  5 PagesShirley Jackson The Lottery Shirley Jacksons short story The Lottery depicts life in a provincial American town with rigid social norms. Mr. Summers symbolizes everything that is wrong with the town; he represents blind adherence to ritual, social rigidity, and resistance to change. His name corresponds with the seasonal setting of The Lottery, too, drawing attention to the importance of his character in shaping the theme of the story. Summers is in charge of the central motif of the storyRead MoreIrony In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson1436 Words   |  6 PagesThe lottery was authored by a renowned and most celebrated literature icon among his peers during his time and beyond; one Shirley Jackson, and the text would be first published in 1948 the 26 of June (Jackson 110). The storyline is told following a literal trajectory of a cultural performance in a remote setting, known as the lottery. The author of this text describes a chain of themes in his work, and they include; tradition and customs, society and c lass, as well as family setups and hypocrisyRead MoreThe Lottery, By Shirley Jackson1195 Words   |  5 PagesOn the surface, Shirley Jackson’s short story, â€Å"The Lottery,† reads as a work of horror. There is a village that holds an annual lottery where the winner is stoned to death so the village and its people could prosper. Some underlying themes include: the idea that faith and tradition are often followed blindly, and those who veer away from tradition are met with punishment, as well as the idea of a herd mentality and bystander apathy. What the author manages to do successfully is that she actuallyRead MoreSince the beginning of time, morality has been a central component of human society. We strive to1000 Words   |  4 Pagesmorally as possible. But imagine a dystopian society in which the basic morals we consider necessary did not exist, and with the most fundamentally basic human rights standards vanished. The two short stories Harrison Bergeron by Kur t Vonnegut and The Lottery by Shirley Jackson exemplify two societies with completely different moral codes. The compelling short story Harrison Bergeron, by Kurt Vonnegut, is set in a future dystopian society. The plot follows an â€Å"average family† in the year 2081 after the