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Shirley Jackson 1919-1965   Shirley Jackson has an interesting way of writing literature. She has published horrors, comedies, and supernatural novels. She has also written many short stories. Using two Biographies and articles about Shirley, it has become clear that she has lives a life just the same as any everyday woman, mother, and wife. Some of Shirley Jackson’s literature tries to accomplish “The workings of the mind” said Friedman. For an example “The Birds Nest” and “Hangsaman”. Shirley started to write these novels when she was in the progress of having serious problems. They began worsen as the years went on, as did her arthritis. In the novels such as “the lottery” and “The Witchcraft of Salem Village” she tries to portray humor for her younger readers. As stated before she is a very unique writer, so when she was writing these novels she, in her own sick humor, tries to persuade her readers that she is the only one in New England that practices witchcraft. Miss Jackson did not only write for others to enjoy, she did it to keep herself calm. Friedman states that “she used it as her own therapy”. It kept Shirley out of depression. In “The Road through the Wall” Jackson described a rich society and highlighted the flaws in it. She showed the way people act and how they treated all classes. The point on illustrating this situation is to portray how prejudice is wrong and immoral. The pattern that seems to repeat throughout her novels, short stories, family stories and articles is the outlook on man kind. Many show the difference between the good and the evil. Some show the prejudice and the hypocrisy. Others represent loneliness and frustration. All and all she always puts the studies of the human or unnatural mind in her work. She writes to entertain, disturb, and to make a valid point. They are informational to teach humanity lessons on how we treat one another, for and example “the lottery”. Elizabeth Janeway, literary critic states “to state a moral about humanities need to deflect the knowledge of its own death on a victim” to make a point that, that’s how people in society really treat each other. Shirley may be trying to simple change that way of thinking in certain peoples minds. People that do not believe in the supernatural or refuse to face the troubles we are happening might be able to change after reading a persuading novel by Shirley. If someone is prejudice against a certain racial group, Shirley hopes that she can change their thoughts on how it is hurting our society. This unforgettable author had been born in 1919. In the time period of her life both the Korean and Vietnam were in progress .Her work reflects on those wars by the act of fighting. Wars are the results of two or more group of people that do not agree on one or more solutions. She shows different racial and social class groups not getting along and expresses those problems in her novel. This amazing author contributes her intellectual knowledge in her pieces of literature. To America, she gives us heart and soul, and a chance to laugh to horrible situations. To humanity, she offers us a reality check on how we act on life. She helps us realize how evil people can be in life. By Shirley Jackson’s death she had completed three articles, four works of non- fiction prose, two family books, seven novels, one play, one poem, and 55 short stories. “The Lottery” in 1948 is the one of the most popular pieces and the two family novels “Raising demons” and “Life among the Savages” are also the most popular novels she had ever written. No other author could beat the passion she has for literature. DATABASES!!! Bloom, Harold. “Biography of Shirley Jackson”. __Blooms major short story writers: Shirley Jackson.__ Harold Bloom. New York City: InfoBase Publishing, 2001. P11-13. This piece of literature (article out of the database) contains information on Shirley Jackson’s life. She was born on December 14, 1919, in San Francisco. She started to write when she was in high school. Her first novel was “The Road Through the wall”. She wrote many short stories as well. She had four children and she wrote about her experiences with them and how it was to raise them. This biography contains an acceptable amount of information on Shirley Jackson. I would recommend this journal/ article to a student that is studying her life and her literature. Hague, Angela. “A faithful Anatomy of our Times”. __Frontiers: A journal of women studies.__ Article, 2005. Issue 2. pg 73-96. The writings of Angela Hague (article of the database) express and emphasize on how Shirley Jackson writes about women’s lives. That some of her novels such as “Raising Demons” and “Life among the Savages” evaluates what the lives of women in that time were like. It was representing what is expected of them and what their roles were. I would recommend this article to a male reader specifically if they wanted to know what she wanted to express in her novels. It shows a great deal of meaning to the women. BOOKS!!! Carolyn, Allessio. “Shirley Jackson 1919- 1965”. __American Writers.__ Supplement IX. Jay Parini. Boston: Gale group.2002. pg. 113-130. They writings of Allessio Carolyn express her opinion on what Shirley Jackson means when she writes. She shows life through many different points of view. She also states what critics say about her literature. I would recommend this article to anyone that wants a little more detailed journal on each specific novel of hers. Especially if you was a more in depth idea of her background. It reveals an enormous amount of useful information about her. “Jackson, Shirley”. __Literary lifeline.__ 5. Nicola Chalton, Margaret Doyle, Bridget Giles.. Danbury: Grolier Educational, 1998. Pg98-99. This book article shows simple facts about Shirley Jackson. It mentioned four books that she has written. It states her birth, death, and her age when she died. It also showed what was happening in the time period that she lived in. The Korean and Vietnam War were both going on when she was alive and most of her literature reflected on that. However I would not recommend this piece of work for people who are searching for an article that would be a strong reference.