Classic literature is the exact definition of pieces like Shirley Jackson The Lottery. It is not just the time frame and context which makes a piece classic, but instead the quality of it. When you are able to apply that same piece to another time period and it still be of relevance also makes it a classic. As an author, you will either have one of three results after writing. Very successful results, mediocre results and unsuccessful results.

Mediocre is definitely better than an unsuccessful outcome but all authors aim for the success initially. No one in this world works hard to not see great outcomes come of it. With Shirley Jackson The Lottery she used a fictional approach on her take with the lotto back then. Yes the processes were pretty much the same but the state of importance differed from what it has become present day. This story actually was published shortly after it was written all in the month of June, (year)1948.

It is a very historic story, being dubbed one of the most popular short stories ever. Many Junior High and High School teachers use it in school aiding english lessons on interpretation. She wrote this story to show how the lottery process results in a smaller and older American culture. While these were the earlier forms of the lotto, the object remained the same when it came to a winning slip. In this story, the selected winner of the marked slip was killed.

The lotto was a tradition in which the people of this village believed that the harvest would improve when it was done. It was the tradition they followed in belief that this was true. For this event the children were first to gather the stones. After submitting the slips, the selected family was then chosen. After that the selected member of that family was chosen (in which they were stoned by the village).

This short story was about a page long. This is how it classified as just a piece/short story. She wrote the story generally to enlighten readers on the origin of violence in humanity and the injustice of it. Unfortunately, not every reader grasped this and automatically shunned her story. Although this received many negative views, it still ended up becoming a classic for years to come.

When a story is published, it is distrubuted everywhere so readers can have access to it. This has been the main way to get literature out for so many years. If they are not in book form, you would be able to find them in newspapers. Now with technology, you can locate pieces like Shirley Jackson The Lottery anywhere online. People in the past had not had this luxury, so they were only able to find it in limited locations.

That is the significance and benefit of the internet and computers today. While each character was said to have a special significance, a TV adaptation was also created by 1955. This gave a whole new insight and interpretation of the story. Another film was created in 1969 and again in 1996. The 1996 film is actually not a translation of the original story but instead a sequel piece to the original story.

Pieces like these are written to silently warn humanity of just how twisted we can be at times. These stories usually contain hidden messages and unless you read between the lines it will ‘go over your head’. This is what happened with many of the readers who read it years ago. Besides the ones who got it, readers today can appreciate what is signifies present day. We live in a time where senseless violence occurs on the regular in humanity. Literature like this can hold the power to reel us back in and help us to realize the dangers of our actions moving forward.