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What literary devices are used in The Lottery Ticket by Anton Chekhov?

Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Lottery Ticket” utilizes several literary devices to tell the story of a married couple who believe they have won the lottery, only to find out their ticket is not the winner. Though the story is brief, Chekhov employs literary techniques such as irony, symbolism, and characterization to provide commentary on the human condition.

Use of Irony

One of the main literary devices used in “The Lottery Ticket” is irony. Dramatic irony, situational irony, and verbal irony can all be found within the story’s few pages. The most prominent use of irony comes at the end of the story, when Ivan Dmitritch and his wife find out their lottery ticket did not actually win anything. This represents situational irony, as the expectation that they had won the lottery is subverted by the opposite reality that their ticket was worthless. The couple had spent the entire story dreaming of how their lives would change with the prize money, making elaborate plans to buy homes, travel, and quit their jobs. The dashing of their hopes once they learn the ticket is not a winner is profoundly ironic.

There are several examples of verbal irony in the characters’ dialogue as well. After looking up the lottery numbers in the newspaper, Ivan says “We really are a lucky couple!” This is verbal irony, as the audience knows they have not actually won anything. Additionally, when Ivan’s wife says “I wonder what it is it would be best to do with the money,” it is ironic because there is no money to be spent. Dramatic irony is also present, as the reader is aware early on that the couple’s ticket is worthless while the characters themselves do not find out until the end.

Use of Symbolism

Symbolism is used extensively in “The Lottery Ticket” to represent abstract concepts and ideas. One of the central symbols in the story is the lottery ticket itself. At the beginning of the story, the lottery ticket symbolizes hope and possibility. Ivan and his wife see it as their chance to escape their life of poverty and difficult work. However, by the end the useless lottery ticket symbolizes the randomness of fate and the folly of plans made without firm foundations. The dashed hopes associated with the lottery ticket symbolize the capriciousness and uncertainty of human life. Ivan and his wife built up fantasies based on a presumption that turned out to be without merit.

The food and drink the couple imagines buying with their winnings can also be seen as symbolic. Their visions of fine wines, fruits, roasted duck, and other extravagant food represent the wealth and luxury they believe the lottery ticket will bring them. When these dreams of fancy foods and drinks vanish, it reinforces the cruelty and emptiness of their hopes. Names of specific foods like “marinated salmon” and “Tokay wine” symbolize the specific image of a rich life that quickly disappears.

Characterization

Though there are only two main characters in “The Lottery Ticket,” Ivan and his wife, Chekhov manages to develop their characterizations using a variety of literary techniques. The writer uses the characters’ speech, actions, thoughts, and feelings to shape their identities. Ivan, as the husband, is portrayed as more practical and skeptical, while his wife indulges fully in fantasy and imagination about their imagined wealth. Ivan makes ironic, witty comments like “We really are a lucky couple!” that reveal his awareness of the uncertainty they face. His wife, on the other hand, envisions hosting dinners, going to Italy, and buying a “sable coat” with enthusiasm and optimism.

Chekhov also uses physical descriptions to characterize the couple. When Ivan’s wife learns they did not win, the text says “her face fell.” This visual detail exemplifies her disappointment. Ivan is described as trying to control “his wavering smile” when he learns the news, indicating his attempts to grapple with his emotions. Details about the couple’s home, clothing, and lifestyle also build a picture of their modest means and way of living. Ivan’s “worn-out, dirty” coat and his wife’s “shabby old” jacket characterize their poverty which make their lottery dreams so enticing.

Use of Foreshadowing

The literary device of foreshadowing hints early in the story that Ivan and his wife’s hopes of winning the lottery will be dashed. When Ivan’s wife suggests they buy an estate after winning, Ivan says “If only your dreams would come true!” This line subtly casts doubt on the fantasy, indicating it is only a dream rather than a reality they can count on. When Ivan’s wife cannot decide what color cover she would get for her imaginary future album, this also foreshadows that her dreams of wealth are clearly uncertain. Ivan’s smile when he looks at the lottery numbers “wavering” also presages the news that the ticket is worthless – his happiness is unsteady and vulnerable.

The details about Ivan and his wife’s ordinary lives, their threadbare clothing, and their impoverished home also foreshadow that their far-fetched desires to live like nobility are likely unrealistic. The way they talk endlessly about how they would spend imagined riches hints that these dreams will collapse. Chekhov lays the groundwork early that the couple is getting carried away with improbable fantasies, paving the way for the ironic reversal at the story’s end.

Use of Setting

The simple, unremarkable setting of Ivan and his wife’s home reflects and reinforces the story’s themes. Their house is described as small and plain, with broken cornices and no yard or outbuildings. This drab, modest home provides a contrast to the lavish lifestyles and ornate homes the couple imagines owning if they win the lottery. The simple home thus symbolizes the couple’s poverty and lack of means, while also emphasizing how unrealistic their visions of luxury are.

The fact that Ivan does basic repairs himself, like fixing the broken cornice, also shows the couple’s financial struggles. Their home is aging and in need of improvement because they cannot afford contractors or renovations. The setting demonstrates the vast discrepancy between the couple’s real lives and the existences they fantasize about, underscoring the cruel irony when their dreams are dashed.

Even the location of their home, stuck in the middle of town with no yard, symbolizes the confined nature of their lives. The geography reinforces their lack of freedom and opportunity. Thus Chekhov uses setting details to emphasize themes of poverty, irony, and unfulfilled longings.

Use of First-Person Narration

Chekhov’s use of a first-person narrator shapes the reader’s experience of the story. Because events are described from the limited perspective of an observer who relates Ivan’s words and actions, the story has a sense of intimacy. The narrator gives the impression of objectively recounting what he witnesses and hears, like when he says directly “I looked at the new sheet in our office.” The seeming impartiality makes the ultimate irony more striking for readers when the conclusion reveals the couple’s crushing disappointment.

If Chekhov had used a different perspective, such as third-person omniscient, the irony may have felt heavy-handed or didactic. The first-person narrator allows the situational irony to unfold gradually, much as it does for the characters themselves. The narrator tells the story as an impartial bystander, allowing readers to experience the irony and draw implications from it in a more organic, less forced way. The perspective ultimately heightens the pathos of the couple’s misguided elation and subsequent despair.

Use of Subtext

While the text directly tells the events of the story, Chekhov also employs subtext to convey underlying meanings. The way Ivan and his wife fantasize about their imagined future wealth hints that they are unhappy and unfulfilled in their current lives and relationship. Ivan dreams of no longer having to work, indicating he finds his employment oppressive and unenjoyable. His wife focuses on the glamorous social opportunities wealth would bring, suggesting she feels their poverty excludes them from certain societal positions and pleasures.

The intensity of their excitement about the lottery also implies their hope represents much more than just monetary gain. Their dreams seem like an psychological escape from an existence they find depressing, tiresome, and limiting. The lottery ticket symbolizes a dramatic change in their lives that they deeply long for on a profound level. So while the overt text describes imagined lavish meals and homes, the subtext reveals characters desperately seeking escape, fulfillment, and new horizons through the lottery winnings.

Use of Plot Twists

The main plot twist occurs at the end of the story when Ivan and his wife discover their lottery ticket number does not match the winning number. This sudden reversal is essential to the ironic nature of the story. The twist subverts both the characters’ and readers’ expectations to underscore the theme that even joyful hopes can be overturned by randomness and chance.

The twist adds depth to the story because until the last minute, the narrative follows the couple’s hopeful visions and ignores any evidence their dream is unfounded. The twist catches both the couple and audience off guard. Neither anticipates this outcome because Chekhov’s writing intentionally excludes foreboding signs or clues that would undermine the fantasy earlier. The surprise fuels the situational irony and makes the final disillusionment more crushing and resonant.

Plot twists require careful handling by writers to avoid feeling contrived or manipulative. Chekhov’s restrained, matter-of-fact style helps make this major twist feel like an authentic representation of the unpredictability of real life. The suddenness illustrates how even fervent dreams can be shattered without warning, lending the story tragic power.

Use of Contrast

Contrast between the couple’s imagined future lives and their actual existence is central to the theme and irony of the story. Chekhov emphasizes differences between the reality of the couple’s modest home, limited means, and hard work and the luxurious illusions they construct when they think they have won the lottery.

Details about Ivan and his wife’s shabby clothing, unremarkable home, and threadbare furniture make their visions of sable coats, spacious country estates, and lavish dinners more extreme. The intense disparity highlights how far removed their dreams are from their real lives. This gulf sets up the twisting irony when their fantastic hopes turn out to be meaningless.

Contrast also underscores the theme that while financial gain brings joyful fantasies, it does not guarantee happiness or solve underlying problems. Despite imagining a new world of wealth, Ivan and his wife’s Imagined happiness stems mainly from escaping their dreary lives rather than from the opulence itself. The contrast between present and possible future reveals the limits of money to create satisfaction.

Conclusion

In the deceptively simple short story “The Lottery Ticket,” Anton Chekhov employs a range of literary techniques to tell an ironic tale of dashed hopes and uncertain dreams. Devices such as irony, symbolism, characterization, foreshadowing, subtext, and contrast allow Chekhov to convey rich thematic meaning about the capricious nature of fate and limitations of fantasy. By skillfully utilizing these devices in a mere five pages, the story reveals profound insights about happiness, human psychology, poverty, marriage, and the precariousness of building hopes on chance.

Through expert use of irony and an unexpected twist, Chekhov illuminates bitter truths about disappointment in a way that engages readers’ emotions as well as intellect. While the story focuses on two humble characters, the issues it explores through adept literary techniques still deeply resonate with contemporary readers across time and culture. The deceptively simple narrative represents fiction’s power to reveal difficult truths about the human experience in a creative, memorable, entertaining, and moving way.