After reading “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, many questions about the author and her life arose. The Lottery is an intriguing piece, so I wanted to learn more about Jackson’s writing style. Also, I was curious to see how the Lottery was received by its readers.
Jackson began her literary career through her involvement with the Syracuse University campus literary magazine. Through this job, she met her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman. He himself was a noted literary critic. They settled in Vermont where Stanley worked as a professor, Shirley focused on her writing. They had four children, who she figured in her short stories many times.
In her obituary, it is explained how she wrote in two styles. “She could describe the delights and turmoils of ordinary domestic life with detached hilarity; and she could, with cryptic symbolism, write a horror story in the Gothic mold in which abnormal behavior seemed perilously ordinary.” She wrote with a great choice of words, which built a story so greatly. Of all of her horror stories, “The Lottery”, which was published in The New Yorker magazine is best known. Many questioned the meaning of the story and often wondered why Jackson wrote it. Other stories of similar genre portrayed Jackson as a moralist who believed that society picked on those who they found to be different.
On a lighter note, it was said that because she often wrote about ghosts, witches, and magic, she actually used a broomstick for a pen! In reality, she used a typewriter. Jackson enjoyed being an author greatly. "I can't persuade myself," she once said, "that writing is honest work. It's great fun and I love it. For one thing, it's the only way I can get to sit down." explained Jackson. She greatly enjoyed seeing a story grow, she found it satisfying. She wrote two stories based on living with living with and raising her family, “Life Among the Savages” (1953) and “Raising Demons” (1957). These stories were not horror stories, but were actually cheerful ones. Orville Prescott, of the New York Times said that he read “Life Among the Savages” "until I laughed so much the tears came to my eyes and I had to stop."
Jackson is the author of “The Lottery”, which has become “one of the most important American short stories and continues to be analysed, critiqued and taught in schools. She lived a happy life with her family, and was a great writer capable of moving her audience.
"Shirley Jackson, Author of Horror Classic, Dies." Editorial. The New York Times 10 Aug. 1965: n. pag. Www.nytimes.com. Web. 1 May 2015.
Bloodchild (Crux)
The Black Box (Outside Research)
After reading “The Black Box” I had many questions, generally about spies and what their job consists of. Throughout the story, it was mentioned that after the mission is complete, the spy would not return home the same person he or she was before. This made me think about the lives of spies after their work is no longer needed. This led me to an article about a CIA approved psychiatrist who speaks of his accounts and patients.
The article tells us how the psychiatrist found that CIA personnel tend to have psychological tics depending on their trades. CIA personnel who have desk jobs tend to have obsessive tendencies. Since those people work with classified information day in and day out, they become paranoid at the end of the day, by thinking thoughts such as “Did I actually close all the safes?”, and think that the static on their clothing attracted a classified document and that document is now leaked.
For CIA personnel who are more like spies, he found that they have ADD tendencies. He explains how they are energetic, restless. He claims that these people enjoy things that have short time horizons. They enjoy being thrown into a project with no background knowledge, and absorb all of the information at a rapid pace. They then find a solution and move on. This rapid lifestyle is something the “spies” enjoy. The Psychiatrist gives them the title of “excitement junkies”. Although ADD can be seen as a disadvantage, the psychiatrist claims it can also be an advantage. He claims that they have the ability to see things from all angles, by thinking outside of the box. They can easily synthesize information that would have otherwise been overlooked.
The Psychiatrist also found that the spies are at a very high level of honor, integrity and patriotism. Their job requirements include lying, stealing, and anything else that would aid them in their task. The interesting thing is that all of these acts are done for the greater good, at least that is how the spies deal with it. They see it as part of their patriotism toward the country. Once they return home, they throw away their “on the job” mindset. This connects with the story, because the narrator often exclaimed that these tasks were so that people in our country could live happily. That excuse was used as a tool to be able to get through the job. According to the article, this point is an actual one that is evident in spies that the psychiatrist observed.
Stein, Jeff. "CIA-Approved Psychiatrist Treats Cloak and Dagger Set's Woes."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Apr. 2009. Web. 01 May 2015.
Semplica Girls Diaries (Imitation)
April 23
I just finished reading Semplica-Girl Diaries by George Saunders for my English 103 class, and I am surprised with what I just read. The story takes place in a world not like ours, where humans can buy other humans to put on display. I know that this class was based on scifi, but this is the first one where humans are subdued by other humans. Overall, I was caught up in the moral decisions made by the main character. Whether it was how he spent his lottery money, or what specifically he spent it on, his decisions could have been different.
The main character lives with his family of five, two daughters and a son. They are not the richest family, but they are not dirt poor. They have a house and a car, but do not live an extravagant lifestyle. When the father, or the main character hit the lottery for 10 grand, I can not imagine how excited, as well as relieved he felt. I sympathized with him because I felt like this was a reward the world was giving him for all the hard work he has been putting in to keep his family afloat. He was behind on his bills, and this money would have helped him. Unfortunately, he chose to use that money for something else. He decided to put the money towards a surprise birthday party and a yard renovation for his oldest daughter, Lilly, who has recently been depressed. Trying to make his daughter happy is not a bad thing, but he did not have to spend such a large amount on a party and gifts. Instead, he could have still made her happy with the gifts she initially wanted. If he really felt necessary, he could have arranged a small get together.
Not only did he spend the money on the surprise, he also used it to purchase SG’s, which are poor humans who are being payed to be suspended in the air, as lawn ornaments. This was another of his gifts towards his daughter. I knew that this purchase would cause future problems. Early in the story, when the audience is first exposed to SG’s, Eva clearly expressed her discomfort with them. This should have clicked in the main characters head when he first thought about purchasing the SG’s. He should never put his daughter in such an uncomfortable position. In turn, she released them in the middle of the night, which caused further problems for the family. If they were not found it would cost almost 9 grand to repay the company. This is ironic because the father initially won about that amount. Now, he is right back where he started, all because he was being greedy.
Note to self: do not ever purchase human scarecrows. Also, try to reason with future children, make sure they understand and appreciate everything that we have as a family, and not to take anything for granted
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