Q&A in The Lottery
How does Shirley Jackson's The Lottery embody irony? How is Jackson able to construct her story relying on such a theme?
The answer to the latter question presents itself in the first few pages of the story. Jackson creates a seemingly innocent, communal setting that directly contrasts the ensuing horror of the Lottery. The very first sentence, "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a fullsummer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson) is key. Jackson's use of words such as clear, sunny, fresh warmth, blossoming, richly green, all establish the happiness of the day and give no indication of how dark it would become.
The people themselves at the beginning of the story perpetrate happiness. Children outside "broke into boisterous play and their talk was still of the classroom, and the teacher, of books and reprimands." Soon after, "the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes" while the women "greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip." Nothing about the townsfolk hinted at the looming threat of the lottery. Nothing except the stone collecting. Ironic how such an innocent act, performed by little children, had such a sinister purpose. Jackson constructed her story upon such irony.
On to how the event itself embodies irony. When we think about a lottery, the first thing that comes to mind is a large sum of money and a slim chance to win it. Winning the lottery is usually regarded as a positive outcome. In spite of all odds, you won. However, in this short story, winning the lottery is anything but positive. Following the unveiling that Mrs. Hutchinson 'won', she cried out "It isn't fair". A stone was thrown and hit her on the side of the head. If you win this lottery, the townsfolk will kill you for the sake of tradition. The stones the children collected were for this purpose. Jackson ends the work on this dark note: "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her". Despite all odds, Tessie lost.
As we can see, the central theme of this story is irony. Even the idea that the ritual must be performed out of traditional values is ironic considering how much it's changed. If this idea of preserving the culture is so important, why are names written on paper rather than wood chips? Why is the black box not being restored and allowed to get "shabbier each year"? It seems like tradition is just an excuse to continue this horrible ritual. What do you guys think? Did you identify any other examples of irony in The Lottery? Is irony the central theme or could it be something else? Let me know in the comments!
The answer to the latter question presents itself in the first few pages of the story. Jackson creates a seemingly innocent, communal setting that directly contrasts the ensuing horror of the Lottery. The very first sentence, "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a fullsummer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson) is key. Jackson's use of words such as clear, sunny, fresh warmth, blossoming, richly green, all establish the happiness of the day and give no indication of how dark it would become.
The people themselves at the beginning of the story perpetrate happiness. Children outside "broke into boisterous play and their talk was still of the classroom, and the teacher, of books and reprimands." Soon after, "the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes" while the women "greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip." Nothing about the townsfolk hinted at the looming threat of the lottery. Nothing except the stone collecting. Ironic how such an innocent act, performed by little children, had such a sinister purpose. Jackson constructed her story upon such irony.
On to how the event itself embodies irony. When we think about a lottery, the first thing that comes to mind is a large sum of money and a slim chance to win it. Winning the lottery is usually regarded as a positive outcome. In spite of all odds, you won. However, in this short story, winning the lottery is anything but positive. Following the unveiling that Mrs. Hutchinson 'won', she cried out "It isn't fair". A stone was thrown and hit her on the side of the head. If you win this lottery, the townsfolk will kill you for the sake of tradition. The stones the children collected were for this purpose. Jackson ends the work on this dark note: "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her". Despite all odds, Tessie lost.
As we can see, the central theme of this story is irony. Even the idea that the ritual must be performed out of traditional values is ironic considering how much it's changed. If this idea of preserving the culture is so important, why are names written on paper rather than wood chips? Why is the black box not being restored and allowed to get "shabbier each year"? It seems like tradition is just an excuse to continue this horrible ritual. What do you guys think? Did you identify any other examples of irony in The Lottery? Is irony the central theme or could it be something else? Let me know in the comments!
I like your analysis of the underlying ironic overtones of "The Lottery". Jackson's normalization of human sacrifice (usually portrayed as an exotic and/or primitive act) shows a lot of irony in such a mundane setting. I also like how you pointed out that the lottery itself is self-contradictory because they barely follow tradition even though the whole thing is done in the name of tradition. I think the central theme of the story is the brutality of human nature, but irony plays a large part in that because people like to view their own customs and behaviors as perfectly reasonable.
ReplyDelete