The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay Example for Free

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson tells such a story: There is an ancient traditional annual event held in a small town in America. Anyone who wins the â€Å"lottery† will be stoned to death for harvest. Tessie is the new unluckier this time, who has to suffer this cruel and inhumane punishment. Seen deeply, females’ inferior position is showed elaborately in this novel. First, the appellation to females shows that they are in subordination to males. â€Å"Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square† (Jackson, 2), â€Å"she said to Mrs.   Delacroix† (Jackson, 2), â€Å"Mrs. Dunbar said regretfully† (Jackson, 3). Here â€Å"Mrs. Delacroix†, â€Å"Mrs. Hutchinson† and â€Å"Mrs. Dunbar† all suggest that one female cannot be an individual being after her marriage, since she has to be a part of her husband by calling her â€Å"Mrs†. When Tessie comes lately, the villager’s addresses that â€Å"Here comes your Missus, Hutchinson† (Jackson, 2) instead of calling her own name also shows that she has become a subordinate object for her husband. Just like Lakoff says in his book Language and Womans Place, â€Å"It is with Mrs, Miss, and Mr.  Since a significant part of the opinion one normally forms about a womans character and social station depends on her marital status as is not the case with men† (Lakoff, 73). This phenomenon is common all over the world. Why don’t males change their appellations like female do? Actually, the marriage cannot change anything but the couple’s new relationship and family lifestyle. So does a female have to compromise to become her husband’s stooge? Perhaps only when she makes accomplishment can she be introduced as an independent individual. Those who are satisfied with their status quo are likely to accept the new subsidiary address. Thus, females’ subordinated appellations gradually become accustomed. Second, the role of being a housewife unconsciously influences a female’s equal right to fulfill her own accomplishment. In the novel, â€Å"Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders†¦ â€Å"Clean forgot what day it was,† she said to Mrs. Delacroix†¦She dried her hands on her apron†¦Wouldnt have me leave mdishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe? † (Jackson, 3) Tessie’s words and the act of â€Å"drying her hands on her apron† suggest the female’s low social position at that time. Obviously, if she does not â€Å"win the lottery†, her next work is to rush home and serve meals for the family, since the traditional allocation of family roles has subsided into an established social norm: once a woman is married, she will give up her career and play the role of a housewife, heart and soul. So how can a female have more time to do something more prominent fulfillment since she has been limited into such situation? It’s no wonder that females do not share the equal position to do something more meaningful to some extent. Just like Journalist Ruth Franklin subtitled her 2010 piece in The New Republic: â€Å"On Shirley Jackson and the challenge of being both a mother and a writer† (p. 1). She says, â€Å"In the 1950s, just as much as now, women can only write when the baby naps, or while the children are at school, or after the dishes are done and the lunches are packed and the house is, at last, quiet. This sort of logistics has always worked with efficiency, once the woman understands that no matter how smoothly the thoughts are flowing, they will have to stop when the school bus comes. It works as a resignation to frustration† (FRANKLIN, 2010). It’s easy to perceive that Shirley Jackson’s writing career is somewhat influenced demonstrably because of her female identity. Being both as a mother and a wife, she has to regard her career—writing as the secondary mission to the family. The embarrassing situation she faced is linked with any females at that time. Thus, the role of being a housewife unconsciously influences a female’s equal right to fulfill her own accomplishment. Third, females don’t have the power to make decisions. As it is showed in the novel, males govern all the affairs, â€Å"The lottery was conducted by Mr. Summers; The postmaster, Mr. Graves carried a three- legged stool; Mr. Martin†¦ came forward to hold the box steady on the stool† (Jackson, 1). Three most powerful men dominate the whole village politically and financially. â€Å"There were the lists to make up of heads of families, heads of households in each family† (Jackson 2), which suggests the male’s dominant position in a family. Moreover, â€Å"Dunbar’s wife substituted him to draw the lottery because he had broken his leg, but Mr.  Summers asked whether she had a grown boy to do it† (Jackson, 2) also shows that the unusuality of a female to do such an essencial and decisive thing. In the end, Tessie’s death is another evidence to show that female is not only inferior, but a victim in that lamentable social circumstance. Having no rights to make decisions, females doom to be decided instead of deciding. Thus, the female’s inferior position has formed. In a world, females’ inferior position is shown elaborately in The Lottery. Their appellations, their family division of the labor and their no power to make decisions all display the inferior position of females.