Peer Pressure In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery, is a short story that begins innocent and unassuming, but finishes with a much darker undertone. Many themes are presented in this story but one is much more prominent; you need a willingness to change tradition. Jackson created characters that represented this theme very well, as they were able to convey the traditions and emotions she was trying to show without being boring or two-dimensional. The townspeople’s refusal to change - or even completely abandon - the tradition of a lottery is what will be their downfall.

“The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it” (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual “Lottery”. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. “I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the

When you think of the lottery, what do you imagine? Gold, A new house, maybe a car? This short story is nothing like you’re thinking. “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, conveys its message through the use of diction, dialogue, irony, and theme. "The Lottery" first appeared in the New Yorker in 1948.

Would you stone your neighborhood to death for the sake of tradition? Shirley Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1948 to tell a story about how savage people can be for tradition. The story is about a small town who has a yearly lottery and the winner gets stoned to death by their neighbors. The thought is that if you have a lottery, then you will have good crops that season. This short story tells the tale of poor Tessie Hutchinson who is stoned by her own town, her son helps too. In the short story The Lottery, Shirley Jackson argues that all people, regardless of how civilized they may seem, are capable of great evil by contrasting seemingly pleasant and relatable details of the town with the shocking barbarity of their tradition.

"The Lottery", is a story about how people stick to tradition. It describes how painstakingly people do not give up tradition and would rather kill someone than give it up. In the beginning, all of the townspeople are gathered in the TownSquare just as they do every year on this day. All the man and women are

“The Lottery” is a short story by Shirley Jackson, first published on June 26, 1948. The story was initially met with negative critical reception due to its violent nature and portrayal of the potentially dangerous nature of human society. It was even banned in some countries. However, “The Lottery” is now widely accepted as a classic American short story and is used in classrooms throughout the country.

The idea of winning a lottery is associated with luck, happiness and anticipation of good things. In Shirley Jackson's story, " The Lottery", this is not the case. The irony of the story is that the winner of the lottery gets stoned to death by everyone else in the town. The story is very effective because it examines certain aspects of human nature.

In Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery," what appears to be an ordinary day in a small town takes an evil turn when a woman is stoned to death after "winning" the town lottery. The lottery in this story reflects an old tradition of sacrificing a scapegoat in order to encourage the growth of crops. But this story is not about the past, for through the actions of the town, Jackson shows us many of the social ills that exist in our own lives.

Having to be exactly like their peers is the goal of many people. People may feel left out or forgotten if they do not participate in the common activities of others. Drugs, smoking, drinking, and partying are many extracurricular activities that many teens across the world participate in and struggle with. Peer pressure and the urge to want to be like others get the most of people. The common “good” kids often feel the need to participate in these activities so they feel a sense of acceptance. But this is not limited to only teens; even adults can “follow the crowd.” Whether it is buying the newest car or television, doing drugs, or dropping out of college, these activities can all come with disastrous consequences. Following the crowd can

The lottery is usually associated with beating the odds and winning something extravagant. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, the reader is led to believe the story is about something cheerful and happy given the setting of a warm summer day and children out of school for the summer. Jackson turns winning the lottery into a bad thing. Of 300 villagers Tessie Hutchinson shows up late, claiming she forgot about the annual lottery drawing, but seems very excited to have made it on time. When Tessie was in no danger she is gossiping with neighbors and encourages her husband to draw for the winner. Jackson curiously builds up the character of Tessie so that it seems she is blinded by tradition until she becomes a victim of it

    "The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice.  The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens.  On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate.  Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice.  Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about.  Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a terrify story about a small town and their traditions. The Ending of the lottery is the most shocking many of its readers have ever read. Why is it so shocking. Well Shirley jackson uses sybolism and simple narritive and her normal life to convey such a shock.

Shirley Jackson strongly conveys the motif of peer pressure throughout her short story, the Lottery. The first signs of peer pressure appear as everyone in the town gathers to participate in the inhumane annual lottery. In this most recent lottery, Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen. No one steps up to protect her, not even her husband, Mr. Hutchinson. The rest of the people in the town cannot think past the idea that it is better that Mrs. Hutchinson gets stoned instead of them. The final cruel act of peer pressure is played out when all the villagers gather to throw large stones at Mrs. Hutchinson. One person is so utterly heartless, or feels such enormous pressure to conform, that they give Mrs. Hutchinson’s son a few pebbles to throw at his own mother.

"The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about an inhumane

“The Lottery” was written by Shirley Jackson, and first published June 26, 1948 by the New Yorker. Shirley Jackson wrote many stories, including this one, and it holds a major place in literature. Jackson did a terrific job in showing that everything isn’t perfect. She made me come to the fact that, sometimes the things that we should do in life aren’t always the best things. On the other hand, a couple factors in “The Lottery” spawned from Jackson’s life. She mixed life, with life within in a story. She made everyone realize that many things that happen in life aren’t always right. Of course, we should follow authority, but even people in authority can sometimes see past the real things going on in life. With that said, not all traditions are positive and helpful, some are distressing and negligent. In the long run, some things can end up causing more harm than good. Therefore, everything in life isn’t perfect, but we