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Derek Sardinas
Mr.Ulloa
Composition
9/10/21
Module 3: Paper one analysis of The lottery and The Aftermath
Authors have many ways of exploring themes of their books, whether using the main
characters of their story or using many devices. Many authors can share the same theme of their
story, but they explore the theme in other ways, giving readers different perspectives of what the
author is trying to communicate. In this case, both authors of the lottery and the storm share the
same theme of tradition but have different ways of revealing it.
In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The lottery,” she uses many literally devices such as
imagery, irony, and symbolism to reveal her perspective on the theme of tradition. She uses the
stack of rocks to symbolize the tradition and the ways of the town. The stones were the way of
killing the person that was selected by that black box and the black markings. There is no reason
why the villagers should be loyal to black-box yet disloyal to other relics and traditions, just as
there is no logical reason why the villagers should continue holding the lottery at all. The stones
were a symbol because they allowed everyone to participate in the stoning freely in the ritual.
The stones could also be called symbols because she compares it to the history when stoning was
used as the way of punishment of the guilty; in the end, killing them during a human sacrifice or
ritual. The stoning also ties into some religions with how the religious community punished
certain people who participated in disbelief of the group.
Shirley uses the title of her story to show symbolism and tradition, which gives off a play
on words because of the winnings in the end. All of the expectations of “The Lottery” were the
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same at the beginning of the story, but once the reader reads the second paragraph, red flags start
to rise as the pile of stones is being made. Shirley brings tradition into play once the papers are
pulled from the black box. The title itself portrays the lottery as if things are normal and nothing
drastic is about to happen, but as one looks closer to the story’s refined details, one can see the
small things that can tell you otherwise. A regular lottery would cause for celebration and
excitement, but no one wanted to win this lottery. The atmosphere was relatively scarce and stiff
at the moment of the lottery. The villagers passed down the lottery from one generation to the
next, with no questions asked amongst the villagers. It’s a tradition or ritual that has not been
questionable based upon the firm belief that has been washed into their brains that they
“wouldn’t be right” if it didn’t happen. According to Shirley Jackon’s “The Lottery,” ”’ They do
say,’ Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, ‘that over in the north village
they’re talking of giving up the lottery.’” Then old man warner goes on to make fun of the
disbelief of getting rid of the lottery: saying, “Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he
said. ‘There’s always been a lottery,”
According to David Michelson’s “Violence in “The Lottery,” it states: It is curious that
Old Man Warner admonishes those who would give up “The Lottery ” and Tessie becomes
increasingly adamant that the lottery is not fair. Significantly, we are not told why some villages
want to give up the lottery ritual, and we struggle to determine just why someone would not want
to win a lottery, which usually results in something good. The possibility of violence at this point
in the story is remote, if not incredible, but, drawn this far into the tale, we have been initially
primed for a modestly incongruous ending.
In the next part of the story, the irony is displayed as an underlying theme used
throughout the entire story. The irony is shown in the story at the beginning with the setting
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starting to layout; the story goes on to say, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with
the fresh warmth of a full-summer day…” but it ends with the brutal and savage death of a
housewife. How ironic, right? The two people who internally run the town, Mr. Graves and Mr.
Summers, both have ironic names to the story and the actions taken, for instance, the death of
Tessie and the postmaster’s name, Mr. Graves name both go hand in hand. Mr. Summers’s name
goes hand in hand with the time of year and the setting where the scene takes place.
Some Critics may classify change in society and society vs. individual as the main topic
or talking point of the short story “the lottery.” Some people may see this as being the main topic
of the short story because of the way the characters change up from being a town and a group to
turning on Tessie and, in the end, killing her. According to Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
states: “The people separated good-humoredly to let her through two or three people said. in
voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, “Here comes your, Missus, Hutchinson,”
Another quote from Shirly Jackson’s states: “……and soft laughter ran through the crowd as the
people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson’s arrival.” This quote represents the
friendly atmosphere of Mrs. Hutchinson from the town. The story continues to the picking of the
black box and the Hutchinson family being chosen for the lottery, and from this point on, we see
the atmosphere change once the Hutchinson family is picked. Shirley Jackson’s the lottery states
that: People began to look around to see the Hutchinson’s. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet,
staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly. Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers.
“You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” This
quote shows the town turn on the family and starts to cast them out; once Tessie is the one to be
stoned, the atmosphere changes again but for the worst. According to David Michelson’s
“Individual and Society In “The Lottery,” our sympathy for Tessie as the victim is furthered by
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the fact that she is the only character individualized by the author. Tessie shows up late to the
ritual, setting herself apart physically from her society and drawing our attention to her, and then
jokes with the crowd about leaving dishes in the sink, which as a moment of light comedy,
allows greater identification with her than with any other character. The fact that Tessie’s final
words are, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right!” serves to underscore her role as an individual victim of her
society. This quote shows behind the scene thoughts of a writer that sees the short story in a
different light and sees Tessie as a victim. Shirley accomplishes what she is trying to
communicate in her story is by using the diverse usage of literary devices to shed light on the
problems of tradition.
In Mary Yuraki Water’s The Aftermath, she uses the theme of loss and regret and the
usage of the devices of language, emotion, and point of view to explore the fear of change in
tradition. When Mary uses language and emotion to examine the theme of tradition, she is
showing the repeating fear of a tradition. She uses the main character Makiko to show her son's
fear, Toshi, not wanting to be part of the prayer of his falling father. Using the language and
emotional pain of her son not uptaking the tradition shows that she fears the practice-changing,
making it hard to accept it as her son did. Mary revealed that when someones are used to a
convention and change comes towards their way, they would start to panic about it and grow a
fear of it. The way that Mary explores the theme of loss and regret has a connection with the
theme of tradition. When Makiko starts to forget about her husband, she regrets that she was
dishonoring her husband's sacrifice and duty as a wife to remember him. Hence, she uses the
tradition of praying to continue her husband, but the loss shapes tradition in every way. Mary is
trying to accomplish the idea that one can enjoy traditions and moving forward in life without the
fear of accepting change because one will never know what it may bring to the future table.
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In conclusion, Both of these authors used many different literary devices and supporting
themes to accomplish what their work is trying to communicate and give readers different views
of tradition in the author’s stories.