Jackson’s “The Lottery” reveals that human beings are capable of committing great atrocities and behaving cruelly, when such are condoned by society and peer pressure and tradition. The story also reveals that human beings are prone to scapegoat others.
What does the lottery say about the human nature?
With the brutal ending of her story, Jackson argues that humans are self-serving and capable of great cruelty—as long as they think their actions won’t have repercussions that harm them directly. In the town, no one speaks out against the lottery before a name is drawn.
What is the main message of the lottery?
The main themes in “The Lottery” are the vulnerability of the individual, the importance of questioning tradition, and the relationship between civilization and violence. The vulnerability of the individual: Given the structure of the annual lottery, each individual townsperson is defenseless against the larger group.
What is the significance of Mrs Delacroix in the lottery?
Mrs. Delacroix in Latin and French and various other languages means “of the cross”. Christians believe in the cross, but although she shows to be Christian, when the stoning comes along she picks up the biggest stone to throw at Tessie: “Mrs.
Who is Tessie Hutchinson?
Tessie Hutchinson
The unlucky loser of the lottery. Tessie draws the paper with the black mark on it and is stoned to death. She is excited about the lottery and fully willing to participate every year, but when her family’s name is drawn, she protests that the lottery isn’t fair.
Why was Tessie killed in The Lottery?
Just as the villagers in “The Lottery” blindly follow tradition and kill Tessie because that is what they are expected to do, people in real life often persecute others without questioning why. As Jackson suggests, any such persecution is essentially random, which is why Tessie’s bizarre death is so universal.
What does graves symbolize in the lottery?
Mr. Graves is walking behind Mr Summers, “graves” symbolizes death, darkness, sadness, but is behind “summers”, which is happiness, and joyfulness. The darkness of the lottery is hidden behind the happiness of it.. “good crops”. … It almost makes the villagers think that stoning someone once a year is a happy thing.
What does the black dot symbolize in the lottery?
Spots and blemishes are frequently associated with disease, and so the appearance of the dot symbolizes the marking of a person for destruction, as if he or she were diseased and unsafe to others. The marked slip of paper also shows the pointlessness of the lottery itself.
What does the 3 legged stool mean in the lottery?
The three legs represent the Christian Trinity; God the Father, God the Sun, and God the Holy Spirit. The three legged stool is symbol because the Holy Trinity is a connection to the village people god.
What is Tessie’s objection to the lottery?
Perhaps because she is a free spirit, Tessie is the only villager to protest against the lottery. When the Hutchinson family draws the marked paper, she exclaims, “It wasn’t fair!” This refrain continues as she is selected and subsequently stoned to death, but instead of listening to her, the villagers ignore her.
What is Mrs Hutchinson’s demeanor at the end of the story?
The woman selected by the lottery to be sacrificed, she is stoned to death by the villagers at the very end of the story. … Her casual attitude as she jokes with her neighbors changes dramatically when the Hutchinson family is selected in the lottery.
Is the lottery based on a true story?
It might seem strange that so many people thought the story was factual, but, as Franklin notes, “at the time The New Yorker did not designate its stories as fact or fiction, and the ‘casuals,’ or humorous essays, were generally understood as falling somewhere in between.”