Shirley Jackson Biography Essay

Shirley Jackson is often regarded as one of the most brilliant authors of the twentieth century. Born in San Francisco in 1916, she spent the majority of her adolescence writing short stories and poetry (Allen). While she is known best for her supernatural stories, one of her most popular works is a short story called “The Lottery”. The lottery takes place in a small village in which once a year on June 24th, the town population is gathered. After the gathering, there is a drawing to see which family is chosen, after the family is chosen, another drawing takes place to see who is stoned to death. In the New Yorker's magazine book review hailed “The Lottery” as “one of the most haunting and shocking short stories of modern America and is one of the most frequently anthologized” (Jackson). This review stems heavily from Jackson’s brilliant use of irony, symbolism, and foreshadowing. However, perhaps what truly stands out is how Jackson is able to wrap all of those elements together as a way to show an overarching theme of the corruption that exists in human nature. While the real source of “The Lottery’s” inspiration is unclear, there has been heavy speculation that the roots lie heavily in the actions of the holocaust and the actions that took place during World War II. Regardless of the source material, a general consensus can be made that the plot of the lottery is a dark reflection of human actions.

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson is a theoretical physicist and an African American inventor, she has made many advances in science. Jackson first became interested in science and math during her childhood and conducted experiments such as the eating habits of honeybees. She went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where she got her bachelor, and doctoral degree, all being in physics. She became the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D. from MIT. Dr. Jackson conducted important scientific research that helped others to invent the portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, fiber optic cables, and the technology behind caller ID and call waiting. Jackson is currently the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, this is

Helen Hunt Jackson was responsible for writing A Century of Dishonor. She wrote this because after moving to Colorado she was one of the few white people who pity the Native Americans and their suppressed rights. Before Helen moved to Colorado she lived in Amherst, Massachusetts. Helen’s first husband was a union officer but died in 1830. Becoming a widow Helen started to write poems, travel accounts, and stories. She earned a living off of that until she moved to Colorado and married a financier.

Thomas Jonathan Jackson was a general who served in the Civil war. He was born on January 21, 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia. Jackson’s Parents were Jonathon Jackson & Julia Beckwith Neale. He had 3 brothers and sisters. They were Elizabeth, Warren, and Laura Ann. Elizabeth and Warren were both older than him, and Laura Ann was younger.

After West Point, Jackson served in the Mexican American War where he would meet his friend and future commander, General Robert E. Lee. When the war ended, he bounced from Fort Hamilton in New York and Fort Meade in Florida. Eventually, though, he resigned his commission to accept a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia in 1851. During this time, he married and lost a wife in childbirth and remarried again. If not for the onset of the Civil War, he may have remained at VMI and most likely faded into obscurity.

Shirley Ann Jackson was born in Washington D.C. on August 5th, 1946. As a child, she excelled in both math and sciences and was encouraged by her parents. Her father in particular involved her in science through many class projects. One particular experience that has helped shape Jackson’s life was going to a segregated school in the 1950’s. After the ruling on Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 Jackson transitioned to the local elementary school.

Jackson herself was born in San Francisco, California in 1916 and later entered Syracuse University in New York around 1937 (Jackson, 2009). The location setting in “The Lottery” doesn’t seem relevant to any of the places Jackson has lived. The story’s setting is more of a rural type farming area, whereas Jackson has lived in mostly city environments.

Maynard Jackson was born on March 23,1938 in Dallas, Texas where his father was a minister. The family moved to Atlanta in 1945, when his father took the pastorship at Friendship Baptist Church.Maynard Jr.'s roots ran very deep in Atlanta.His mother was a professor of French at Spelman College.In 1959 his mother became the first African American

In 1850, after the Mexican war was over he went to Florida to fight the Seminole Indians. Jackson left the army in 1850 and became a math professor at Virginia Military Institute where he taught for ten years. He was not a very good teacher of math. Many students mocked him and made fun of how religious he was. In 1853, he married Elinor Junkin, who died a year later. In 1857, he married Mary Anna Morrison.

Jackson was born on March 15th in 1767. His family emigrated from Ireland two years before he was born. His parents names were Elizabeth and Andrew he also had two older brothers, Hugh and Robert. Jackson’s father died before he was born and Jackson grew up in the Waxhaws settlement near the North and South Carolina borders. His mother wanted him to become a Presbyterian Minister; however, Jackson started pulling pranks, cursing, and fighting. When

     Joe Jackson was born on July 16, 1888 in Pickins County, South Carolina. He was the oldest of eight children and grew up the son of a cotton mill worker. He began working in the mill at age thirteen and never learned how to read or write. He played baseball in

Mary Jackson was born April 9, 1921, Hampton, Virginia, U.S.A. She was a math genius and an aerospace engineer. most importantly she was the first African American female engineer to work and be the first flight engineers for NASA.

Americans were moving back to a time where they wanted life to be simple and orderly. There was also a need to go back to traditional values and a need for conformity (Miss Cellania). While people enjoyed seeing the Cleveland Indians win the World Series, The Philadelphia Eagles win the NFL and while they were being entertained by beautiful women like Lauren Bacall, Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth (PCM Entertainment and Trivia Network) Jackson was entertaining a different audience through her short story. It was interesting that many people were upset with Jackson about this story. One reason was because her publisher spread a rumor that Jackson was a practicing witch (Miss Cellania). Although Jackson dabbled in mysticism and read tarot cards, the idea that she was a witch was a joke. “The Lottery” was frightening during that time and it still is today. Jackson wanted to show what happened when people blindly followed a tradition just because it was a tradition. “The Lottery revealed an uncomfortable truth about the human psyche and, in doing so, became a classic piece of American Literature” (Miss Celinnia).

“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.

As a young girl, Jackson bullied by her classmates, one instance she was even directly pelted with rocks(). This experience transferred into one of her most famous short stories, The Lottery. In this short story Jackson shows the cruelty of the mob towards a single person. Just like when she was a girl and her classmates and peers ganged up on her, the town gangs up on Mrs. Hutchinson a friend and neighbor to many. In the story Mrs. Hutchinson is the character who “wins” the lottery, Jackson uses Mrs. Hutchinson’s treatment as a representation of what happened to her as a child ().