Final Exam English Literature Essay

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English Literature: Final ExamThe three literary works that have been selected for this paper are The Lottery, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Allegory of the Cave. All three of them would be scrutinized on the line of sociological criticism to closely examine the artist’s society and its values that have impacted the literary work. Further, the relation of these works with each other would also be elucidated for better interpretation of the cultural relevance today.The first literary work, The Lottery, was written by Shirley Jackson and highlighted social aspects. It was greatly criticized by the readers, roughly due to its publication during Second World War and secondly, because of the mood, suspense, and tone that it has laid out being entirely unpredictable at various instants. The pleasant beginning of the story and the playful behavior of the people of the story contrasted with what was coming in the next sections, which was completely volatile. The arrangements were being held as if there was a celebration, although it was a mere lottery for the ‘lucky’ one who the rest of the community members would kill. With foreshadowing technique, social terms like mob psychology, the ability of humans to generate violence, community power, and passion for committing a crime are in place within this literary work. Also, a historic cultural aspect called Paganism is seen in its cultural lines. It refers to allowing traditional practices in collaboration with other people of the same society, even if it is wrong. It was heart-wrenching and mind-bending to know when Tessie, a character in the same story, was selected as the one to be killed by her community members, even her family.
This shows herd mentality that persists even today, despite education and modernism. Even if one wants to disobey or disagree, he becomes a subject of disapproval by the others who might be wrong but…

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…powerful ones and demand subordination has created non-conformation among the different segments and sometimes rebellion. This is the same reality depicted in the other two stories and our current society as well. The writer’s theme and symbols of the cave and the world outside the cave show that the world outside has returned to their normal lives, which the prisoners inside the vane did not believe. The prisoner keeps trying to convince the others, open their eyes, and not be skeptical. They should become aware of their surroundings and be philosophically more considerate of what is happening. The power of learning of the environment should not be ignored since coming from darkness to light can change the consequences. The writer believed that the prisoners were unaware of the shadows and did not know about ‘wisdom.’ They did not know the cause of shadows forming by staying in the darkness and should stay in reality forever without knowing….....

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"Final Exam English Literature", 08 December 2021, Accessed.28 June. 2025,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/final-exam-english-literature-2182843