Running Head: Essay Thesis 1

Short Stories

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 Essay Thesis 2

The short story The Lottery which was written by Shirley Jackson got published in

1948 and up to date it remains one of the most enduring and affecting American works in the

literary canon. It basically tells about the famous community that held ritualistic lottery among

its citizens every year. Also in this essay its going to explain the short story A Real Durwan

whereby it talks about Boori Ma on the tall tales that she used to tell the people. Hence the thesis

statement for the essay is traditions, rituals and fiction used in both short stories.

In the short story The Lottery the author uses both skillful and devastating aspects to

make the readers have more urge and expectations on what will happen next in the story or even

at all. Given on the first glance, the reader gets to read the story title which invokes quite a sense

of hope that someone is going to win something. Through the first few paragraphs they confirm

the sense of hope: it is a beautiful summer day, the grass is green, the flowers are blooming and

the kids are out playing although something start getting wrong in the land of perfection, plenty

and hope.

Later in the book the narrator tells us that the official organizing the lottery is carrying

out some civic duty which in the end we find out that he was helping to select someone who will

be stoned by his peers even to death. There is evidence of contrast everywhere in the story from

Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves. There is a high degree of tension concerning the rituals which

surround the story although at one hand people had enough reverence for this traditions to

continue as it has been for years regardless being some murmurs of dissent between the people

since some said that other communities had completely stopped with their lotteries.

Due to fear or superstition or even both, this makes the lottery to continue existing

although the ceremonies that were conducted behind the rituals have already been lost. What is
 Essay Thesis 3

carried out is a little shoddy because there is no any formal chant and even the box that is used

does not have a place of honor instead its just scooted around the village. This has made many

things get lost that were performed in the initial ritual that the oldest man found in the village

gets worried since things are not running like the way they used to be before. According to this

short story, the lottery is more considered as a tradition rather than a ritual as we witness in the

story but since people respect and fears traditions, the townsfolk are more than willing to act in a

violence manner just for the sake of tradition.

The rituals and traditions that are discussed in the lottery in Shirley Jackson seem to be as

old as how the town is since even most of the residents there dont remember any of the rituals

even the Old Man Warner who celebrates his 77th lottery. Therefore this explains that they are

deep rooted in the traditions of superstitions which tend to involve both the crops and human

sacrifice. Well, during the Salem Witch Trials that was found in early America, which was the

most common complaints about the presumed witches it was because they were responsible in

case there was any bad harvest, thus in many ways The Lottery by Shirley Jackson can be

termed as metaphor for the trials that were found in the colonial days in New England.

Regardless of the suspense used in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it is mostly seen by

the fact that the reader doesnt know what the winner will get after winning for the first time.

After having the second and the third reading, it now dawns to the reader that this story is full of

many horrific possibilities and because of these possibilities they tend to make the tale quite

frightening after the first reading. Like for example, the young boy Davy is even too young to get

hold of his paper properly who could have been selected instead of his mother. We also get to see

the fact whereby the children also take part in the ritual violence even against their own friends

and family members and there is also no emotional goodbye to the woman who got stoned.
 Essay Thesis 4

Therefore on this short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it gets to reflect towards the

subtle horrors which get to make some sense after the reader makes more than the second pass.

In the A Real Durwan it tells tales of a 64 year old gatekeeper who walks up and down

the stairs and ensuring that they are clean using the reed bloom which she never leaves it behind

and she is always telling stories of her past using the same phrase at the end of each, believe

me, dont believe me. Boori Ma tells of the stories of how she lived a luxurious life before she

got separated from her kids and husband. Her stories keep on contradicting every time she tells

them and every person who listens to them get to interprets to them in their own way.

Use of status and possession is among the themes that are used in this short story

whereby we see the residents status in the building quite low at the begging of the story, it was a

very old building and no one in this particular flat building owned much worth stealing but

when the building face starts to change the residents there also believe that their status will also

change. She has a very low status in the community which is a charity case of the building which

is because of her deportation to Calcutta after partition, and we see her favorite hobby as to

chronicle her previous times of affluence and luxury.

The residents here are kind to Boori Ma because her services get to resemble those of the

real Durwan. Boori Ma hence feels out of place and so unwelcomed since her status has stayed

consistent and she end up becoming a constant reminder towards the residents that they are still

a lower class community such that when she resists to protect them they throw her out. This will

make them believe that their status will indeed change and hence they will begin their search for

a real Durwan. On the basis for Boori Mas story begins from her being deported to Calcutta

after Partition of India was the partition of the British Indian Empire, which divided the Bengal
 Essay Thesis 5

province of British India into East Pakistan and West Bengal. There was violence that broke on

both sides since the respective governments were less equipped in dealing with the massive

numbers of the refugees they received which lead to so much displacement.

From the short story the lottery we get to see how the community used both traditions

through the beliefs they had while incorporating the rituals they performed every year. Although

some of these traditions faded away with time the townsfolk ensured they would do anything in

order to restore them back. According to the other short story A Real Darwin the see how the

other gives us story of a lady who was separated from her family and gets to tell people many

fiction stories about her past.

References
 Essay Thesis 6

Jackson, S. (2008). The Lottery.

Lahiri, J. (n.d.). A Real Durwin.