Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Shirley JacksonS The Lottery Essays - Fiction, Literature

Shirley JacksonS The Lottery Essays - Fiction, Literature Shirley JacksonS The Lottery Shirley Jacksons The Lottery, raises many questions in the back of a readers mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. The Lottery clearly expresses Jacksons feelings concerning mankinds evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of the short story with the use of symbols and setting. The setting of The Lottery supports the theme. Settings are constructed to help build the mood and foreshadow things to come. In the lottery though, the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. The story begins with a description of a seemingly cheerful environment. Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere by describing the activities of the residents of the town. She describes children breaking into boisterous play and their talk still of the classroom (310). Men and women are gathered in the center of the town talking about farming and taxes or into gossip. The date of the story is June twenty-seventh which Helen E. Nebeker states in American Literature, has symbolic overtones which alerts us to the season of the summer solstice with all its overtones of ancient ritual (102). Jacksons description of the setting supports the theme of the story by showing how mankind is capable of cruel acts regardless of their environment. Symbolism in the story also supports the theme of The Lottery. The very names of the characters in the story are laden with meaning. The names of Summers, Graves, Warner, Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the true nature of the characters. Mrs. Delacroixs name means of the cross in Latin; therefore hinting at Tessies sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs. Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs. Hutchinson it is she who is shown to pick up the largest rock and promotes other people to stone Tessie. Mr. Summers name symbolizes life but in reality it is he who is in charge of the lottery which instead of giving life to its winner it gives death. Graves is the man who carries in the black box and the three-legged stool. His name hints to what will happen to Tessie Hutchinson. It is also from Mr. Graves whom the citizens get the papers from, therefore it is almost like he is the one who has the most influence over whose grave it will be next. Old Man Warner, as his name indicates, warns the v illagers of the unknown danger of stopping the yearly ritual. The irony here is that even though the old are know for being wise, Old Man Warner seems to be a very ignorant and superstitious being who blindly follows tradition. The names of all the prominent characters in The Lottery support the idea that everybody hides their evil nature by way of hypocrisy. Tessie Hutchinsons character also provides considerable information on the theme of the story. Her name reminds one of the historical Anne Hutchinson not only because of the name but also because of the small town setting. Anne Hutchinson was a willing martyr who died for her religion and was exiled from her town. Tessie Hutchinson though may at first of the story appear to be a very good-natured and good human being by the way she comes in to the story. She comes in jokingly kidding with a friend of hers about how she almost forgot about the lottery but as soon as she remembered came running. Tessie seems to be a willing participant at the start but when her familys mane is drawn she shows her true nature. Instead of trying to protect her children she instead demands that her married daughter take part in the drawing just to improve her own chances of survival. Mrs. Hutchinson is a perfect example of how evil exists in everyone and when pushed it can take a mother to risk her own ch ilds safety. The symbolism found in the black box is a key point in understanding the importance of tradition in the theme of The Lottery. The introduction of the black box into the story changes the mood and atmosphere of the crowd of people. The reason

Monday, March 2, 2020

5 Tips for Fixing Not Only . . . But Also Errors

5 Tips for Fixing Not Only . . . But Also Errors 5 Tips for Fixing â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Errors 5 Tips for Fixing â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Errors By Mark Nichol Few constructions cause as much consternation for editors as that in which a contrast is represented with the phrase â€Å"not only, . . but.† The solution to garbled syntax in such constructions is simple but bears repeating, so multiple sample sentences follow. But before we go any further, note not only that a comma following â€Å"not only† is unnecessary but also that also (or too or as well) is essential after but. At its most basic, the erroneous sentence structure you will see played out in several variations here is â€Å"(Subject) (this) (verb) and (that).† The correct sequence is â€Å"(Subject) (verb) (this) and (that).† 1. â€Å"I not only knew where this person was shopping and how much he or she was spending, but the exact time of each transaction.† For such a sentence to exhibit proper parallel structure, the verb following the subject must precede â€Å"not only† so that it applies to both parallel phrases, or the verb must be repeated. In the latter case, the sentence would read, â€Å"I not only knew where this person was shopping and how much he or she was spending; I also knew the exact time of each transaction.† This solution is correct but cumbersome. (I was tempted to write â€Å"not only correct but also cumbersome,† but one is favorable and the other unfavorable, so introducing parallel structure seems inappropriate.) For clarity and simplicity, try this: â€Å"I knew not only where this person was shopping and how much he or she was spending but also the exact time of each transaction.† (Note also the insertion of also.) 2. â€Å"When the United Kingdom went through its mad cow mess, it had to bury not just the dead animals that had gotten sick, but had to change its butchering methods.† That’s a clumsy (and erroneous) attempt to provide the verb twice. It’s far more elegant to compose the sentence so that a single had is strong enough: â€Å"When the United Kingdom went through its mad cow mess, it had to not only bury the dead animals that had gotten sick but also change its butchering methods.† 3. â€Å"Their drinking may not only reflect difficulties in sleeping and calming down, but the fact that their parents provided a chaotic and inconsistent home environment.† This sentence almost sounds right, but may, the verb that precedes â€Å"not only,† is an auxiliary, or helper, verb; it’s playing second banana to reflect, which must also precede â€Å"not only†: â€Å"Their drinking may reflect not only difficulties in sleeping and calming down but also the fact that their parents provided a chaotic and inconsistent home environment.† 4. â€Å"Extended-stay lodging may not only fulfill a practical purpose but an emotional one.† The error is most easily seen in sentences such as this one, in which the â€Å"but (also)† phrase is brief and noisily clatters to the floor, unsupported by the sentence structure: â€Å"Extended-stay lodging may fulfill not only a practical purpose but also an emotional one.† 5. â€Å"They understood that the devastation was not solely about the lack of water, but about the way the land had been used.† This sentence, in which solely stands in for only, places the â€Å"not only† element correctly, but, again, the comma is extraneous, and an inserted also is not: â€Å"They understood that the devastation was not solely about the lack of water but also about the way the land had been used.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcConfusing "Passed" with "Past"1,462 Basic Plot Types