Opium of Ideology in Shirley Jackson's Lottery

The world of literature keeps a memory of Shirley Jackson as an influential, insightful author. Her illustrious work, the Lottery has ever spawned plenty of rave reviews and media adaptations. The Lottery past literature indicates a high review potential. The lead role played by the proletariat and ruling minority and clash of interests between them along with underlying themes of ideology, history, culture, social division of labor, class cleavage, patriarchy, and female disenfranchisement fit the story for a Marxist review. This review seeks to dissect interfaces between the constituent classes of society, their positions to the means of production, and reason d'être and functions of dominant ideology. Building on Marxist literary theories developed by Terry Eagleton, the author addresses this question: how much does ideology contribute to ruling minority's mastery over the proletariat? The dissection concluded that ideology, by vindicating the status quo and narcotizing the populace, keeps ruling minority's supremacy unchallenged and safeguarded against the proletariat.

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