The lottery by Shirley Jackson

Mini-Literary Analysis on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 1818
July 18, 2020
Human Resource Management and the Law
July 18, 2020

The lottery by Shirley Jackson

Thesis: In the short stories, there are different ways in which the stylistic devises can be compared and contrasted in accordance with how the different authors have used them.IntroductionDiscussionConclusionEnglishLiterature is used to express somebodys feelings or to act as a teaching to the different readers. These feelings or teachings are demonstrated by the author in very many ways. In various stories, the different authors use very many stylistics devices to portray this different emotions and teachings. In the short stories, there are different ways in which the stylistic devises can be compared and contrasted in accordance with how the different authors have used them.The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story about an unknown town in America where the people have this ritual of the lottery, which comes every year. Every body believes that this ritual is very important but nobody knows where this ritual came from and its purposes. Bill Hutchinson, one of the characters in the story, draws the paper with the black mark on it and puts them in the black as the heads of different families start to pick the papers. Tessie, another character in the story, picks the paper with the black mark and starts to protest that it is very unfair. People in the town refuse to hear her plea and later in the end, they decide to stone her to death with the pile of stone they had gathered (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009).On the other hand, The Rocking-Horse Winner by D. H. Laurence is a story about a boy who is believed to have luck in betting on horses that could win. The boy comes from a family where they are perceived to be rich and yet they know well that they need more money (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009). The mother of the boy perceives that they are not rich because they are not lucky. This angers the boy and makes him drive his wooden horse in the quest to find luck. The boy collaborates with his uncle and one of their servants to make the bets on the different horses (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009). In the two stories, we can see that there is a lot of similarity and differences, which could be discussed.One of the similarities in the two short stories is that the characters of the stories have certain beliefs. For instance, in the story by Jackson, the characters of the stories believe in the ritual of the black box, which only happens annually. This is shown when it comes at around June where everybody attends, from men and women to small children. Similarly, in the story by Laurence, the characters of the story tend to believe that in order for one to have money, you have to be lucky. The mother in the story explains to her son that it is better to have luck than to have money without luck because the money may be finished as compared to when you have luck. This is because when you have luck, you will always be getting more money.Another similarity in the stories is that there is a lot of materialism in the two stories. The characters of the two stories believe in wealth. For instance, in the story by Jackson, the characters wait eagerly to see who will actually win the lottery. The reason why they are there is to win the lottery and become rich. Correspondingly, in the story by Laurence, the characters of the story believe in wealth even to the extent of the children (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009). Additionally, the author of the story has created the story in a wealthy setting. Therefore, the two stories have a lot of materialism in them since they believe in riches.Another similarity in the two stories is that the authors of the two stories have shown that there is no love between the different characters of the stories. For example, in the story by Jackson, the characters have stoned one of the members of the town despite her plea. This shows that they do not love one another to the extent of killing each other. This is also true in the story by Laurence, where love has faded into thin air. The mother of the children does not love her children. Additionally, he does not love her husband who she thinks that he does not satisfy her needs as a husband (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009).However, the two stories have also expressed some distinction in them. In the story by Jackson, it has the plot of a town where people believe in traditions. The ritual of the lottery, where the black box has become old and worn out, the people do not want to change it despite the fact that some people thought that it is better if the black box was changed. On the contrary, in the story by Laurence, the story is in a modern setting. The characters here believe in a modern life to be the best. The toys that the children play with are very modern as compared to the story by Jackson where the children play with stones as their toys as they are piling them up (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009).Another difference in the two stories is that one is very horrific while the other is very dramatic. The story by Jackson is very horrific because of the cruelty that is involved in the story. The town people gather every year to select a person who they are going to persecute. After they have chosen the person, they stone him or her to death despite the fact that there are children present. On the other hand, the story by Lawrence is a very dramatic story of a family who do not have enough money and they are trying to survive to maintain their status or the status of people who are rich as perceived by the neighbors (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009).The story by Jackson is more like a reality because they are real events, which often happened in the authors life. The author is trying to tell the story of a town that he used to live; of how people were cruel to one another and how the power of the crowd used to work in the town. This story may actually be from real events, which happened in the authors life. However, in the story by Lawrence, the story is more of a folk tale than reality because of the way the author is telling the story. The author of the story has used luck as a way of becoming rich. He has shown this in the story where he has used the mother to show that luck is the only way to get money when she is explaining this to her son (Kennedy & Gioia, 2009). In reality, luck does not get anyone money but hard work. Therefore, the stories differ because one is a fairy tale while the other is from actual events.In conclusion, the two authors have used different stylistic devices in their stories to show the different similarities and differences in them. The authors have tried to show how different characters in the stories behave in the different situation. In similarities, the two authors have used materialism and lack of love for one another as one of their major themes in the stories. In contrast, the story by Jackson is more traditional and horrific as compared to the story by Laurence, which is modern and very dramatic.Works CitedKennedy, Joe, & Dana Gioia. . New York, NY: Pearson Publishers, 2009. Print.