The Lottery Essay Example for Free

The Lottery Essay The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a small town and their unique summer tradition. This stories thematic element is conformity and rebellion, showing a clash between two well-articulated positions in which a rebel, on principle, confronts and struggles with established authority (Abacarian and Klotz, 289). Jacksons short story caught my attention through her suspenseful structural technique, and incorporation of a serious, seemingly absurd, event in a nonchalant manner. Mr. Summers, who devotes his time to running civic activities, runs this event very year on June 27th. The children are always the first to assemble, innocent to the severity of the event that is about to occur. The head of the household each picks a piece of paper out of a black box, and keeps it sealed until everyone has picked. At the same time all of the men open their papers, and whoevers family has the paper with the black dot has been selected. This year, it was the Hutchinson family. Now, the paper with the dot is placed back in the box along with more blank slips to equal the amount of people in the family. They each pick, and the person who picks the lack dot is the winner, who then gets stoned by the town. Until the very end of the short story the reader is very much unaware of the situation and why this lottery is taking place, which is one reason I picked this story. Suspense in a story is one of my favorite elements and always keeps me wanting to read in order to find out what happens. Through most of the story Jackson shows the town quite cheerful and happy, but she begins to hint towards a dramatic event with statements such as a sudden hush fell on the crowd Oackson,342), l wish theyd hurry. I wish theyd hurry Oackson, 343), and a long pause, a breathless pause Oackson, 343). Once I realized what the point of the lottery is, I quickly thought back through the story and realized how apathetic she was towards this event. Throughout the course of the story, Jackson showed many of the characters acting very casual and carefree, even though one of their towns members was about to be stoned. I liked the way Jackson incorporated the idea of stones with the children in the beginning of the story. This makes the reader originally question its relevance and shows the innocence of youth. She then follows later with the elderly man stating that he had been at these lotteries for seventy-seven years, which showed the town being used to the tradition and show normal it was to the society, and how it only negatively affects the person who won and their family. The characters discuss how many towns have gotten rid of this tradition, and Old Man Warner states Nothing but trouble in that,, Old Man Warner said stoutly. Pack of young fools0ackson, 342). This displays the theme of conformity and rebellion, since the younger generations want to get rid of the tradition, and the older enerations with more power over the society believe it is for the best. Even the death of an individual in their town they say is necessary and tradition, which I found astonishing. oliday atmosphere, which concludes with a horrific event. The holiday atmosphere is used to diminish the immortality of the event, but the author successfully uses the happiness to add suspense to the tradition and add a dark twist to the severity of it all. Overall, the suspense positively adds to the structure of the story and the casual aspect of the stoning and death of a citizen follows the theme of conformity and rebellion.

Galileo Gallilei :: essays research papers

Galileo Galilei was born on February 15, 1564, in Pisa, Italy. Galileo was the first of seven children of Vincenzio Galilei, a trader and Giula Ammannati, an upper-class woman who married below her class. When Galileo was a young boy, his father moved the family moved to Florence. Galileo moved into a nearby monastery with the intentions of becoming a monk, but he left the monastery when he was 15 because his father disapproved of his son becoming a monk. In November of 1581, Vincenzio Galilei had Galileo enrolled in the University of Pisa School of Medicine because he wanted his son to become a doctor to carry on the family fortune. Vincenzio thought that Galileo should be able to provide for the family when he died, and his sister would need a dowry soon. Galileo had other plans, and in early 1583 he began spending his time with the mathematics professors instead of the medical ones. When his father learned of this, he was furious and traveled 60 miles from Florence to Pisa just to confront his son with the knowledge that he had been "neglecting his studies." The grand duke’s mathematician intervened and persuaded Vincenzio to allow Galileo to study mathematics on the condition that after one year, all of Galileo’s support would be cut off and he was on his own. In the spring of 1585, Galileo skipped his final exams and left the university without a degree. He began finding work as a math tutor. In November of 1589, Galileo found a position as a professor of mathematics at the university of Pisa, the same one he had left without a degree four years before. Galileo was a brilliant teacher, but his radical ways of thinking and open criticism of Aristotle’s teachings were not acceptable to the other professors at the university. They felt that he was too radical and that his teachings were not suitable. In 1592, his three-year contract was not renewed. 1n 1592, he landed a job teaching mathematics at the University of Padua with the help of some aristocratic friends. After his father’s death, Galileo supported many relatives (including his brother Michelangelo and his family) and the sum of money he earned as a professor was not nearly enough. He began to tutor on the side to make extra money, including Prince Cosimo, the son of Grand Duchess Christine of Tuscany, which helped Galileo with some of his financial problems.

My First Child

I walked through the doors of Moses Taylor hospital, In Scranton, Pennsylvania. I was feeling apprehensive and uneasy, as I found myself at the nurses' station of labor and delivery. Once I was finished with registration, I followed a nurse into the dusty rose and moss green room, where I would be staying until the much anticipated arrival of my child. I tried to keep myself occupied by watching television, reading, and doing crossword puzzles, but nothing could have kept me from feeling the excruciating pain of labor.The eagerness to have this all over and done with, was definitely not helping with the anxiety I was feeling during that process. After 22 grueling and strenuous hours of being stuck In a bed, and three different shifts of nurses, I finally met my daughter. Friday morning, at 4:mama, the sky was dark and cloudy, and the moment I had been anxiously awaiting for nine and a half long months, was here at last. Everyone in the room got very quiet as my child entered the wor ld. I was very confused as to why I had not heard any sounds coming from her and it began to worry me. The moment I heard her cry, I new everything was going to be okay. Oh! She Is absolutely breath-taking,† I exclaimed as Dry. Reedy placed the Innocent child on my chest. Just as I said that, a tiny hand reached up and touched my face. I braced myself against the back of the bed; I could hardly contain my excitement as I held my daughter in my arms for the very first time. I could smell the sweet, inviting aroma and feel the velvety softness of her skin. Nothing in life had prepared me for the overwhelming love I felt at that moment. I looked over at my child's father; while fighting back the Inevitable tears of Joy that ere making their way Into my eyes, and I stated. Frank, look at how perfect she SSL Look at her tiny little nose. † I can still remember the first time I set eyes on her. She was naked, and glistening with the slimy waters of birth. As the nurse removed her from my arms, to clean and weigh her, I could not take my eyes off my little miracle. The instant I saw her, I knew the name we had chosen would fit her beautifully. The nurse, wearing arctic white Nikkei sneakers and soft pink scrubs with a cute little Winnie the Pooh pattern on them, handed my daughter back to me. She was wrapped In an Ivory blanket, with baby blue and cherry red Infant foot prints on It.Nurse Lori began filling out my child's vital statistics, â€Å"She is seven pounds and fifteen ounces and 20 inches long. Have you decided on a name for her yet? † â€Å"Aubrey. † I answered. â€Å"Aubrey Grace. † Lori commented, â€Å"What a great name for such a beautiful child. Congratulations! † â€Å"Thank you,† I replied. The next few hours were filled with visitors coming to welcome Aubrey Into the world. Aubrey met her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and Godparents all in the course of a day. Aubrey started getting over-whelmed with all of the commotion around her. WA! † cried Aubrey, as she let out this tiny little cry. I tried to console her as best as I could, and eventually found that she was hungry. I quickly grabbed the bottle of Gerber formula for her. As I held my tiny bundle of Joy in my arms, I could see a lonesome tear run down my mother's cheek. When I knew exactly why my mother was crying. They were not tears filled with sadness, but were tears of Joy. My mother helped me through so much in my life, and I never understood the love she had for me until I finally had a child of my own.

American history from 1815 to 1840 Essay - 1054 Words

Throughout American history, politics changed with the times, forming and growing as new situations and environments took place. However, the most drastic differences occurred between 1815 and 1840. During this time, the North and South develop different economic systems, which created political differences between the regions. Between 1815 and 1840, the number of eligible voters drastically increased as politicians utilized a wider variety of campaigning methods in order to appeal to as many voters as possible, all essentially caused by economic growth. Politics grow to include universal white male suffrage, a strong national government, and nationalism versus sectionalism. Economic Growth (American System, Industrial Revolution,†¦show more content†¦Political figures began appealing for popular support, using tactics like public rallies, picnics, slanderous charges, and newspapers to capture attention. Document I is a campaign almanac that promotes the 1840 candidacy of H arrison and Tyler. During this time period, it was common for political candidates to use almanacs, tracts, buttons, effigies, and rallies to publicize and romanticize their records. Political parties themselves began to change as people like Martin Van Buren tried to go back to old political parties (Document C). He thought that the best political combination would unite southern planters and â€Å"plain Republicans of the North.† †¨Van Buren was part of a group of shrewd politicians called the Albany Regency--With the help of their newspaper, the Albany Argus, they controlled party nominating conventions and political patronage (spoils system) while in office. The Albany Argus is a great example of how newspapers came to be a big part of politics. Seen in Doc G, the number of different newspapers in the United States increased to 1,200, with the number more than tripling between 1810 and 1835. Newspapers were widely distributed, and—after innovations made newspa pers affordable—were widely used as a campaign tactic. There were many causes of the incredible political changes during 1815-1840’s, but the main cause was economic growth. The War of 1812 caused men like Henry Clay and John Calhoun to findShow MoreRelated Canal Building before 1840 Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesCanal Building before 1840: Essay Throughout history, there has been a need for better mode of transportation in order to keep up with economical growth. Canals have been around since the Ancient Roman Civilizations and still exist today. Canals have been so important because they allow people to travel from one place to another and back by way of water. They require very little energy and maintenance but help trade flow more efficiently. 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