The Lottery Persuasive Essay Example For Students

The Lottery Persuasive Essay The Lottery, a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale of disturbing evilness. The setting is a small village consisting of about 300 residents. On June 27th of every year the members of the 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. Although they are gathering for a lottery drawing there is an air of nervousness about the event. From start to finish there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the authors in depth use of foreshadowing. The first hint that something strange is happeningis brought to our attention in the second paragraph. After Jackson describes the summer morning, she alludes tothe children gathering in the Village Square, but they areacting quite strange. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followedhis exampleeventually made a great pile of stones in onecor ner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys (Text, 782). The first question we mustask is why are the boys piling stones up in the village square? At the very least we know that the stones willplay an important role in the final outcome. Each following paragraph contains subtle clues asto what is going to unfold. After all of the children have gathered the men begin to fill the square, followed by all of the women. They stood together, away from thepile of stones in the corner (Text, 783). The fact thatthe stood away from the stones, again, informs the readerthat the stones play some sinister role. Nervousness amongst the people is evident due to the childrens reluctance to join their parents standing in the square. We will write a custom essay on The Lottery Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now At this point in the story the reader should have a feeling that the lottery being described isnt going to have a pleasant outcome for someone in the population. One particular line on page 784, in the lastparagraph, gives the reader direction in realizing the lottery payoff. The narrator describes Mrs. Hutchinsons entrance saying, She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. The word farewell is used as foreshadowing to the climax of the story. Normally when a person enters a crowd of people they are greeted, but not Mrs. Hutchinson for she is obviously leaving. Nearer the climax the hints of foreshadowing almost give away the secret. Old Man Warner says, Bad enough to seeyoung Joe Summers up there joking with everybody (Text, 786), thus indicating that the lottery was no jokingmatter. It is obviously going to make a major impact on somebodys life. The people knew that every year there wasgoing to be a lottery, and they maintained a sense of humor to accompany their disgruntlement. Engaging in the drawing was a necessity to them, and for reasons not discussed, they accepted it.Another reference to the seriousness of the occasion is described when Mr. Summers (the lotteryofficial) says, Well nowguess we better get started, get this over with, so we can get back to work. Anybody aint here? (Text, 785). Once again it doesnt sound like the people involved are too anxious to find outwho will be the lucky winner. When Mr. Summers begins calling names, the residents nervously present themselves,unaware of their destiny, to pull slips of paper out o f the little black lottery box. Nobody is to look at their slip of paper until all of the members of the village haddrawn. This action adds suspense to the story. .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .postImageUrl , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:hover , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:visited , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:active { border:0!important; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:active , .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627 .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u04860b18108697bab0c75ff7d3743627:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Social Work in Canada EssayThe reader will not know what is about to happen until the very end of the story unless they have picked up onJacksons strong use of foreshadowing. The story finally begins to unfold as everyone examines the individual slips. For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, all the women began to speakat once, saying, Who is it?Bill Hutchinsons got it' (Text, 787). Doomsday is upon the Hutchinsons, and the Missus is screaming The Lottery Persuasive Essay Example For Students The Lottery Persuasive Essay In the days of Jesus through the mid 1900s, people had many different superstitions, or beliefs, about life. People believed if they were to do certain things, they would have good luck. Like Indians used to do a dance, called the Indian rain dance, when they wanted it to rain so it would help their crops or even their heritage. It was a dance people still believe in today, but those people dont know that the reason they said it worked was because the Indians didnt quit dancing until it rained. There are many superstitions in todays time as well. I know that in the game of baseball many different players have different superstitions. Just like David Wells, when he used to pitch for the New York Yankees, believed if he listened to Metallica before every game he pitched he would have a good game. But regardless if David Wells listened to Metallica or not, he would still pitch the same if he didnt listen to them. All I am saying is that Shirley Jackson, when she wrote The Lottery, in 19 48, was trying to show everyone about the different superstitions, or beliefs, each culture, town, or village had and how bad they were. Even the kids in the village got ready for the lottery, it didnt faze them, and all they knew was that it was just an event that happened every year. After all, villages, tribes, or cultures have many different traditions they all tend to put their full trust in. We will write a custom essay on The Lottery Persuasive specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The lottery is a drawing that takes place on June 27th of every year, right before the crop season. Everyone who lives in the village, even the children, draws a piece of paper from the black box and doesnt look at it until everyone draws theirs. When everyone finishes drawing, you turn your piece of paper over and the one with the mark on in, which is marked with coal, is the one who wins the lottery. But if you this lottery it isnt a good thing. The person who wins the lottery, the one with the marked sheet of paper, gets stoned to death. The villagers believe that if they have a lottery before cropping season they will have a good season. This is one of those beliefs, or superstitions, they have that makes everyone think that everything is going to become good. According to Old Man Warner, who has been attending the lottery for seventy-seven years, towns would be crazy to give up the lottery. When Mr. Adams told Old Man Warner that the north village was talking about giving up the lottery, Old Man Warner snorted, Pack of crazy fools. Listening to young folks, nothings good enough for them. Old Man Warner believes in the lottery and thinks that if other villages give it up things would be bad. He also said Theres always been a lottery. This statement makes me think that this is the only reason they have one. Sometimes superstitions go on for such long periods of time and we do them so often, they become traditions, a have to. When Old Man Warner says the word always, I began to wonder if he even believes in the lottery, or is he thinking it works because they always have one. But if you are trying to decide if the lottery is a belief or a tradition, look at the examples I have given.Try and think about the meanings of each and make your decision.