Bizarre/ Normal
The story I chose for my second blog is "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. This story is very misleading and also poses an end with a strange twist. this story takes place in very small town or village in which people seem to very polite, and strongly traditional about their rituals. Every year the people from this village would have a lottery in which the winner would be disturbingly kill or stoned by not by family members, but little kids and friends as well. In this short story the author had used the dramatic or objective point of view which does an excellent in hiding her real intentions. if the author had used omniscient point of view which means all knowing, she would reveal thoughts actions and assumptions,and the climax of this story would of being ruined. In contrast to the dramatic point of view where "the author is limited only to what it said and what happens...[and]does not overtly draw conclusions or make interpretations" (125).Then, the use of a different point of view would have ruined the suspense, the mystery and the disturbing twist at the end. A good example of the story would be when"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pocket full of stones."(140). at this point us as reader notice that there something bizarre or abnormal is going on, this specific action opens the door for the mystery and makes the reader reflect and start to ask questions.
On the other hand Jackson is very good at misleading the audience,since the beginning of the of the first sentences she tries to make the reader comfortable she portraits a village where everyone seems not only polite but very friendly. An excellent example is when "They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip."(141). she makes the reader feel comfortable by camouflaging anything that might seem bizarre or abnormal during the curse of the lottery, she usually does this by giving descriptions of activities or pacific description of the places. "the lottery was conducted as where the square dances, teen age club, and Halloween program."(141). Even though she tries cover whats consider "abnormal" with the "normal" the audience is still able to feel the bizarre and unknown that is while the lottery is taking place.
An extra thought
"soon men began to gather...speaking of planting and rain.. taxes.. and their jokes quiet and they smiled rather than laugh.(141)...her we could notice that there was something suspicious, why??? they seem quiet nervous they are trying to talk about anything just to get distracted but inside they were probably very anxious and maybe scared, even if they try to joke around they couldn't even laugh due to that anxious feeling they could only fake a smile.
On the other hand Jackson is very good at misleading the audience,since the beginning of the of the first sentences she tries to make the reader comfortable she portraits a village where everyone seems not only polite but very friendly. An excellent example is when "They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip."(141). she makes the reader feel comfortable by camouflaging anything that might seem bizarre or abnormal during the curse of the lottery, she usually does this by giving descriptions of activities or pacific description of the places. "the lottery was conducted as where the square dances, teen age club, and Halloween program."(141). Even though she tries cover whats consider "abnormal" with the "normal" the audience is still able to feel the bizarre and unknown that is while the lottery is taking place.
An extra thought
"soon men began to gather...speaking of planting and rain.. taxes.. and their jokes quiet and they smiled rather than laugh.(141)...her we could notice that there was something suspicious, why??? they seem quiet nervous they are trying to talk about anything just to get distracted but inside they were probably very anxious and maybe scared, even if they try to joke around they couldn't even laugh due to that anxious feeling they could only fake a smile.
The thing I found most intriguing about this story is the setting that it takes place in. What possible circumstance could lead a village of people to resort to their own version of population control? The sheer ferocity of being stoned to death also brings to mind certain biblical implications. The most disturbing part to me is how the narrator never mentions the town they are in or the reason for the “Lottery” in the first place. This makes the reader believe that this could happen anywhere anytime. However, in the beginning of the story she tells how the “grass was richly green and that the flowers were blooming profusely” and references the date of “June 27th” (Jackson pg140) which is very near the summer solstice. Was this “stoning” some sort of religious offering? After all, the summer solstice is the mid-point of the growing season. Is this story somehow describing the inner workings of a religious cult? Great interpretation!
ReplyDeleteMiguel I think your interpretation of this story is interesting. You were saying that the speaker tries to cover up the normal with abnormal. I think that is interesting because when I read the beginning of the story where the boys were filling their pockets full of stones, I felt that they were going to go somewhere and play a game. I didn't feel at that time that there was something evil going to happen. Although some of the examples that you gave could have gone both ways for the reader. Thank you for giving me a different outlook.
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ReplyDeleteMiguel, I disagree, the story was not intriguing. Though I can appreciate the narrator providing some information about the setting there is no clear indication about the historical setting. It's as if the reader is left to wonder whether the traditions enacted are ones done in the past or something that goes on in small towns in modern day time. I do however agree that the author chose an objective narrator point of view because most of the information she provides about the characters remain entirely outside of the characters' minds thus allowing for the reader to formulate or interpret the actions or thoughts of the character. The author could have used a limited third- person omniscient point of view to tell the story of Tessie Hutchinson. This point of view would have allowed the reader to gain an indepth perspective about the characters thoughts, fears and reaction leading up to the stoning. Jackson created situational irony in this short story, which adds suspense, due to the fact that the stoning is at odds with what the reader would perceive is taking place. From the start of the story I believed that the "Lottery" was a matter of good fortune for someone in the village. When the author provided information regarding stones I assumed this was an object of kids play for the boys in the village. Overall, Jackson uses epiphany as a process of illumination in which facts that were previously hidden become evidently clear. Great Blog!
ReplyDeleteHello Miguel! I believe that you misundestud some aspects of the story. First, the narrator is not omniscient because this kind of narrator knows what characters think, do, or they are goint to do. The narrator is limited, he just tell the story let the reader make his conections. Also, the author maybe chose this kind of narrator because it increases the intriguing plot.Your last quotation does not refers to the lottery but they way Mr. Summers coduct the lottery. It is very important distinguising the intentions of the words because it can lead you to misunderstud the story meaning. Another issue is your post title. I could not find relation with your opinion development. It is important to connect your title with your analisis. Good Job.
ReplyDeleteMiguel, I think you did a good job on interpreting this story. You mention how the author tries to deter us away from that fact that something suspicious is going on. But also there are parts that you might suspect things are going to go down a different path. Near the end when Mrs. Hutchinson is saying they rushed her husband, that it is not fair. She sounds like she is scared, or nervous about something and we soon found out what it was. Also you noticed that the author uses the dramatic POV because we don't know anything that is going only, or what the lottery is only until the very end. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteHi Miguel! First off, I think you did a very good job voicing your interpretation of "The Lottery". Although the first thing I disagree with is your point about the boy filling up his pockets with stones, I did not find that weird or bizarre at first. The way the story described the kids led me to believe that the boy was just picking up some rocks to go play a game with his friends, but I do understand how and why you interpreted it the way you did. I do agree with you on the narrator comforting the audience and trying to make it seem although this was a very positive event that was about to happen. Loved your blog!
ReplyDeleteI've notice that most of you guys do not notice anything strange when the kid had his pocket full full of rocks..... but i would like to know that do you think about this one i would like to get insight on them if it is possible please "soon men began to gather...speaking of planting and rain.. taxes.. and their jokes quiet and they smiled rather than laugh.(141)...her we could notice that there was something suspicious, why??? they seem quiet nervous they are trying to talk about anything just to get distracted but inside they were probably very anxious and maybe scared, even if they try to joke around they couldn't even laugh due to that anxious feeling they could only fake a smile.
ReplyDeleteHey Miguel! First off I'd like to say what a great blog you have going here! Even though I did not realize it until after I read your post, I do agree that Jackson does give the reader a false sense of security with the title and the details disclosed at the beginning of the story. There is definitely something uncanny about a boy filling his pockets full of stones and later finding out that they are used to kill a member of the village. I also agree that the using anything other than the Third Person Objective point of view would have had a lesser impact on the reader. Using the third person limited, omniscient, or first person point of view would have left out some major details. The reason why I say this is because I believe that this story is far more intricate than what the above posters are suggesting. As for the men gathering together at the beginning of the story, I viewed more as the men viewing themselves as a secretive, elite group among the children and women of the village, however, the nervous impression that you got from this event is also valid and one that I had not thought of.
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