Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay -- The Lottery Essays

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson has been criticized, but its longevity and enduringness prove it stands the test of time. In the article, Jacksons The Lottery, the author A.R. Coulthard finds a deeper meaning in the story which other critics take a leak not. Coulthard believes the story is a parable of the evil inherent in human nature alternatively than an assault on mindless cultural conformity, as other critics have suggested (Coulthard 226). Coulthard shows how something that most likely began as a primitive and ignorant behavior to ensure prosperity, evolved into a complete need for sanctioned violence and murder. Coulthard offers well-grounded points to support her argument. Coulthard finds that the actions and demeanor of the villagers are evidence of an underlying enjoyment in the killing. Her analysis shows that the villagers mask their anticipation for the killing under false and softly veiled affectionate gestures. Coulthard points out the contrast between M rs. Delacroix and Tessie Hutchinsons social friendship and how quickly the shallow friendship unravels when Tessie is chosen for the sacrifice. Mrs. Delacroix selected a rock music so large she had to pick it up with both hands, which is in knockout contrast to how a true friend would behave (Jackson 393). Participation in the lottery causes the villagers to lose the ability to be empathetic and their bonds of family and friendship weather for it. The lottery encourages them to abandon ties of love and loyalty and tap into the deepest recesses of the darkness that hides in humanity. The lottery does not offer them prosperity, but strips them of all that is good in humanity. The villagers are masked behind the evil that awaits them each year on a sunny day in June. The other 364 da... ...kill too oft to mourn inconsequential losses like love, friendship and the bonds of family, community, and humanity. Works CitedCoulthard, A.R. Jacksons THE LOTTERY. Explicator 48.3 (1990) 226. schoolman Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery The Story and Its Writer An intromission to utterly Fiction. 8th ed. Compact. Ann Charters. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 387-393. Print. Jackson, Shirley. The Morning of June 28, 1948, and The Lottery The Story and Its Writer An Introduction to Short Fiction. 8th ed. Compact. Ann Charters. Boston Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 950-952. Print.