Analysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner And The Lottery

The use of Satire/Irony within literature establishes situations where the unlikelihood of the occurrence of an event will happen. Jackson’s manipulation of his story, The Lottery, provides an unexpected twist to what one may seem to be a normal subject. Northrop Frye’s The Singing School, suggests that all stories are told in either one of four ways: Comedy, Romance, Tragedy or Satire/Irony (Frye 18). The use of Irony and its conventional associations eludes the reader from interpreting a story as a Romance, but instead give the reader a reversed twist. This use of ironic convention in literary work is seen through Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery; the story of Tessie

In her story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson manages to catch the readers’ attention and ultimately shock them with an unexpected ending; all of which help her emphasize her critique toward the dark side of human nature and the evil that resides, sometimes, in those who we less expect it from. Jackson uses symbolism throughout the story that helps her set the mood and also makes the readers wonder and analyze the senseless violence and cruelty in their own lives.

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” may have a few similarities, but when it comes to their conflict, plot, and structure, they differ for the majority.

Paul gave his mother money because he wanted to help her out. He wanted her to know that he was lucky. “I never told you, mother, that if I can ride my horse, and get there, then I'm absolutely sure - oh, absolutely! Mother, did I ever tell you? I am lucky!" said Paul to his mother. In this story Hester’s son Paul ended up being the unlucky one, he wanted to win so badly that he died trying.

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” may have a few similarities, but when it comes to their conflict, plot, and structure, they differ for the majority.

Many authors use irony to make their writings more diverse, as well as to intensify the literary elements in the story. Shirley Jackson, writer of “The Lottery”, does this in her stories in order to leave the reader in suspense and confusion with her use of situational irony. She also uses dramatic irony to give the story a grotesque twist and to cause the reader more confusion about the characters’ morals. Verbal irony is used to intensify characterization as well as give the reader an insight into the true beliefs of those in the village. The use of irony in all three forms throughout the story adds an intensity to the development of many literary elements throughout the story.

Shirley Jackson also utilizes literary devices to good effect in “The Lottery,” especially that of symbolism. By keeping the setting devoid of any identifying details, Jackson frees the reader to imagine that it could be any place. The only constraints that the author places on her readers’ creativity are that the town is decidedly rural, perhaps narrowing the critique to the cultural scene most frequently associated with small town America. Other symbols include the box from which the lottery slips are drawn (an old and black object which heralds death), stoning as a method of execution (a particularly old and excruciating way to kill someone), and ritual itself (a series of often ill contemplated actions for which one needs no particular reason to follow). All of these, with their marked reference to age, clearly refer to tradition.

The settings in D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” are both instrumental to their respective stories. While there are many setting similarities between the two stories and how they are introduced, there are also many contrasts to the way in which the settings are presented and the effects they have on their stories.

Jackson’s use of describing the town, the friendly language among the villagers and the presentation of the lottery as an event, illustrate the lottery as a fun and joyful event with a sense of excitement in the air. Although it seemed as though all was well, the latter part of the story implied that underneath the characters ordinary appearance and demeanor, there may be a pure evil lingering inside waiting to come out. This evil does in fact come out, when the “lucky winner” gets stoned to death by the rest of the villagers and even by loved ones. This adherence to ritual and the willingness to blindly follow those around them show the lack or want of change within a society. This is evident when Old Man Warner disagrees with Mr. Adams regarding the change in the North village, “Pack of crazy fools, listening to the young folks, nothing is good enough for them” (Jackson 136). They are so set in their ways, that even the thought of change gets them angry. We are led

In the “The Rocking-Horse Winner” the authority figures is Paul, the main characters, are his mom, his uncle Oscar Creswell, and Bassett. Paul has a conversation with his mother about how unlucky she is, sees her sadness and gets into betting on horse racing so that he can get money. His uncle encouraged the gambling because he provided Paul with the money when Paul went to his first horse race. Even though Bassett has not family relation with Paul they end up being gambling partners, he is still an authority figure because of his age and experience on betting in horse races. With the settings and people who are in control, the characters in “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and their personal experiences and thoughts play a role in why they act differently. In ‘The Lottery” Tessie’s family became selfish at the end even though she was screaming that the lottery was not fair. Bill immediately turned on his wife to save himself (Jackson, 71). In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” Paul, who is only a young boy, hears from his mother that his father is unlucky and that she is unlucky because she married a man that cannot make any money (Lawrence, 174). When Paul heard that he decided on his own that he was going to be the lucky one for his mother so that she could be happy. Also the house was whispering to him and his sisters that it needs more money, instead of telling his parents he resolves that he is going to be the person to make money and feed the house. Conclusively, the main characters in “the Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are not compassionate, they are cold-hearted, and only look out for themselves even when their family is in need of help or in trouble. One of the main characters Paul in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence becomes fully aware of his family’s problems and tries to make his mom and the house happy. The surroundings, the authority figures and someone’s own point of view shapes the way they act towards their family in times of stress for the better or worse.

Fiction may entail deranged or preposterous stories that an author can think of, additionally a fiction story might be events that are likely possible but just not true. Fictional characters are whatever the author needs or wants them to be in a story, there are no boundaries for these characters. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence they both use characterization and conflict to show how personal choices lead to specific outcomes, ironically the characters of each story are nearly opposite. Character analysis is an excellent method to understanding the author’s intent to the readers. “Fictional character is an imaginary person represented in a work of fiction” (thefreedictionary, 2017)

What benefit could one gain if one did not critically look at the minor and major details in life, a picture, or a tale? The key to unlocking the hidden meaning is figuring out what is part of the missing puzzle. In "The Lottery" and "The Rocking-Horse Winner," authors Shirley Jackson and D.H. Lawrence employ symbolism and allegory to demonstrate the underlining deeds of secrecy as well as allude to the fateful unknown in the characters’ lives.

     Irony is a main theme in Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” The irony in the story can be separated into three main

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story littered with warnings and subtext about the dangers a submissive society can pose. While the opening is deceptively cheery and light Jackson uses an array of symbols and ominous syntax to help create the apprehensive and grim tone the story ends with. Her portrayal of the town folk as blindly following tradition represents the world during World War II when people’s failure to not mindlessly accept and heed authority lead to disastrous consequences. . Shirley Jackson uses a large array of techniques to help convey the idea that recklessly following and accepting traditions and orders can lead to disastrous consequences.

In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by David Herbert Lawrence, character actions and dialogue reveal how not thinking critically on one’s beliefs and the actions that result from them can lead to tragedy for oneself and loved ones. In “The Lottery”, Jackson uses the character element to show how influential beliefs can be, and how the actions resulting from these can be unfortunate, making a lack of self-reflection dangerous. The danger of not pondering one’s actions is best illustrated through Bill Hutchinson, who “[goes] over to his wife and [forces] the slip of paper out of her hand” (Jackson 7) right as he realizes that she drew the marked paper. Knowing that Tessie Hutchinson drew the marked paper, the townsfolk’s and even Tessie’s own husband’s perception of her changes immediately: going from a well respected, albeit a bit different member of the community, to a person to be killed. Similarly, in “The Rocking Horse Winner”, Lawrence uses the character element to illustrate how a certain family’s habits with money, not luck as they say in the story, is the driving force behind their financial issues. The family’s failure to critically think about their lifestyle is ultimately devastating, leading to the untimely death of Paul. In the beginning of the story, Paul’s mom Hester tells him that “[Luck] is what causes you to have money” (Lawrence 3). Hearing this, throughout the rest of the story Paul is determined to become “lucky”. He is