Shirley Jackson's The Lottery - Essay Example

?The Lottery “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, is a chilling town of small-town conformity. Written in 1948 and published in the New Yorker, the short story has caused controversy but is widely considered to be an important example of American Literature. Considering its importance, it is perhaps surprising that there have been several other adaptations of the story in other media, including a 1996 made-for-TV movie similarly titled The Lottery. The purpose of this paper is to explore “The Lottery” and The Lottery, and analysing which medium is more effective in portraying the nature of the tale. It will also cover the differences and similarities between the film and written versions to uncover the reasons behind these differences and the effects that they have on the viewer or reader. Overall it is evident that, whilst the made-for-TV movie has made a lot of changes to the original story, it is more effective because it uses a wider range of conventions and adds more plot and sub-plot notes. The plot of “The Lottery” and The Lottery differ slightly. The plotline in “The Lottery” revolves around a yearly important event, which occurs on June 27. Everyone assembles in the normal town, as for a typical local festival, but in this case a sacrifice is to be made to ensure a good harvest for the coming year. Each family have to draw a slip at random from the all-important black box, and that which is marked denotes the family from which the sacrifice will be taken. Each family member then draws again, highlighting the specific person to be stoned to death; in this case, Mrs. Hutchinson. In The Lottery, this yearly event is still occuring, which the protagonist Jason returning to the town (which he left when he was very small) with his father’s ashes. It is discovered that Jason is one of the Hutchinson’s referred to in the short story version. The plot of the film adaptation is largely based around flashbacks in which Jason remembers the significance of the gravestones, which all bear the same date at death in yearly intervals. As the townsfolk are so desperate to keep the tradition going, it is difficult for Jason to expose the truth; he winds up mentally ill. Perhaps the reason that both “The Lottery” and The Lottery are so chilling for American readers and viewers is because it is set within a typical small American town of around 300 residents. Additionally, Jackson effectively mixes the conventions of the small town with the outlandish lottery ritual; for example, the residents “in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock” (Jackson, 1948, p1), establishing the normalcy of the town. This is used in juxtaposition with the ritual that would not be familiar to readers of the New Yorker or viewers of NBC. In The Lottery, too, the town to which Jason returns is extremely normal and could even be described as idyllic despite the snippets of memory it brings back. The main similarity between the two media used to tell the story of the lottery is that they revolve around many of the same themes. Perhaps the main theme is of ritual. The lottery in both “The Lottery” and The Lottery are fiercely protected rituals that hold a large importance to the townsfolk. There are a number of customs that must be observed before the actual process of drawing the lottery must begin; the “swearing-in of Mr. Summers” (Jackson, 1948, p7), and “a recital of some sort” (Jackson, 1948, p7), for example. The film and print versions also show that the local people are fiercely protective of their lottery. The townsfolk also seem to follow a herd mentality, as there seems to be no real explanation for the lottery or the sacrifice, but everyone continues to follow along with the practice as usual. Despite this, the ritual itself is unimportant in many ways as “the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson, 1948, p71). This quote is important in many ways because it shows that the people that live in the town actually enjoy the murder of one of their clan, suggesting that there may be something more behind the lottery. One of the reasons that The Lottery is a more powerful narrative is that it draws on this suspicion for the reader and actually shows the townspeople as having people in the outside world with the express purpose of protecting the lottery. One of the most important differences between “The Lottery” and The Lottery is the value placed on family. In The Lottery, the very plot of the film is revolving around how important family is to Jason and his father. Jason returns to the town to bring his father’s ashes to his mother’s grave. In “The Lottery”, the family links seem to be more tenuous, as a lot of the characters seem to be looking out for themselves. For example, “someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” (Jackson, 1948, p78), encouraging him to stone his mother to death. Tess Hutchinson is also shown to have a weak link with her daughter when she shouts “Make them take their chance!” (Jackson, 1948, p50). The reason that the film adaptation is more effective is that the familial relationships are more realistic and give the viewer empathy. This is not the only difference between the two media. The way that the story is shaped in the film version is more dramatic in many ways, because the viewer is uncovering the secrets of the town with the protagonist. Jason goes back to the village and has to re-learn all about the lottery, but also about his role in his own mother’s demise. This is a powerful piece of narrative and allows the viewer to learn more about Jason (or Davy Hutchinson) from the inside out. It also means that the ending (where Jason ends up in a mental hospital) is more poignant and sad because the viewer really feels for Jason and his past experiences. In conclusion, both “The Lottery” (in print) and The Lottery (in film) are very interesting and dramatic tales. They both focus around ritual and herd mentality, which shocks the viewer and reader due to the consequences of this thought. However, despite some similarities the film version of the story is much more effective in drawing the reader’s attention. Firstly, there is more importance placed on the family which is more understandable to the viewer and brings about empathy for the main character. Secondly, the storyline answers some questions that were not answered in “The Lottery”. Finally, the way that the film version allows us to discover the past events alongside the protagonist means that the sad ending is very effective as we have an emotional connection to the protagonist. Works Cited Shirley Jackson, Fiction, “The Lottery,” The New Yorker, June 26, 1948. Read More