Plot and central idea in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” Essay

Shirley Jacksons, The draftsmanship concerns a small towns annual lottery selective service and the grim circumstances that ensue. In this short moreover disturbingly grave piece of work, Shirley Jackson communicates to the reader the theme of scapegoatism along with its implications concerning traditions.In the resolution where this lottery takes place, we find many familiar elements a post office, a grocery store, schools and a coal mine. In this resolution, Mr. Summers owns the coal mine, so his handicraft has made him the wealthiest man in the village. Mr. Summers also controls the annual lottery. He is jolly uncomfortable with his authority but has chosen to carry on with the per year tradition.The order in which the lottery lotterys take place emphasizes who does and who doesnt aim power in the villages social hierarchy. Men or working sons draw for their families. The few exceptions involve death or illness. unaccompanied then is a wife permitted to draw. It is evi dent that although everyone eventually participates in this drawing (children included), women ar disenfranchised from the village social structure. As the villagers anxiously restrain for the lottery to begin, the young boys rough play and gather piles of stones, mend the girls socialize in their circles, watching the boys.Agriculture is the main staple of this village and a great emphasis seems to be placed on the premium of crops. This is reinforced by Old Man Warner, a long snip resident of the town, when he cites the expression, Lottery in June, corn be heavy(a) soon. There is timid talk by Mr. and Mrs. Adams of nearby villages doing away with the lottery, but the notion is quickly abolished when Warner calls these new thinkers a pack of crazy fools. He sarcastically suggests that perhaps they would be better off if they succumbed to living in caves and eating stewed chicken weed and acorns. As far as Old Man Warner is concerned, there has always been a lottery.As Mr. Summ ers begins to woo the town gathering, Mrs. Hutchinson shows uplate, hurriedly joining her husband and family. She claims to have close to forgotten what day it was. Once the drawing commences, Mrs. Hutchinson rushes her husband on when his farm comes to draw with the remark, Get up there, Bill. The reader gets the impression that Mrs. Hutchinson holds little abide by for either Mr. Summers or the lottery.The last round of the lottery concludes with Mrs. Hutchinson drawing the slip with the fe ard black spot. As the town and her own family members move in on her with stones, she cries out several times, It isnt fair, it isnt mature. Her cries go unheard and we are uneasily left to hope that the villagers were swift with their proceedings.In this story, Shirley Jackson illustrates how traditions are passed down to our children, who tend to do what they are told without asking or lettered why. By the time we are mature enough to question morality, as long as it isnt fair or it i snt right to us, we are more willing to accept the condition of our surroundings quite a than promote change.