The Life and Literary Works of Shirley Jackson Essay -- Essays Papers

Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1919 to Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. Her surroundings were comfortable and friendly. Two years after Shirley was born, her family with her newborn brother moved from San Francisco to Burlingame, California, about thirty miles away. "According to her mother, Shirley began to compose verse almost as soon as she could write it" (Friedman, 18). As a child, Shirley was interested in sports and literature. In 1930, a year before she attended Burlingame High School, Shirley began writing poetry and short stories. Jackson enrolled in the liberal arts program at the University of Rochester in 1934. But after periods of unhappiness and questioning the loyalty of her friends, she withdrew from the university. For the next year Shirley worked night and day on her writing. In doing so she established work habits, which she maintained for the rest of her life. After a year of becoming conscientious and disciplined writer, Jackson thought she better return to college for more schooling. In 1937, she entered Syracuse University. At first she was in the School of Journalism, but then she decided to transfer to the English department. For the next two years, while at Syracuse, Shirley published, fifteen pieces in campus magazines and became fiction editor of "The Syracusan", a campus humor magazine. When her position as fiction editor was eliminated, she and fellow classmate Stanley Edgar Hyman began to plan a magazine of literary quality, one that the English Club finally agreed to sponsor. (Friedman, 21) In 1939, the first edition of "The Spectre" was published. Although the magazine became popular, the English department didn't like the biting editorials and critical essays. But inspite of the department's constant watch over the magazine, Leonard Brown, a modern literature teacher, backed the students and the publication. Later, Jackson was always to refer to Brown as her mentor; and in 1959 she dedicated her novel "The Haunting of H ill House" to him.(Oppenheimer, 45) But in the summer of 1940, since Jackson and Hyman were graduating, it was announced the "The Spectre" had been discontinued. "Apparently hard feelings on the part of school authorities lasted for quite some time and may have been one of the reasons why neither Miss Jackson, even after becoming a successful author, nor Mr. Hyman, a known critic, was named as a recipi... ... Yorker. 28 June 1948. p. 292. Janeway, Elizabeth. "The Grotesque Around Us," The New York Times Book Review. 9 October 1966. p. 58. Kittredge, Mary. "The Other Side of Magic: A Few Remarks About Shirley Jackson." Discovering Modern Horror Fiction. Starmont House, New York, 1985. p. 4, 12, 14, 15. Kosenko, Peter. "A Marxist/Feminist Reading of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' ." The New Orleans Review. Spring 1985. p. 225. Nebeker, Helen. " 'The Lottery': Symbolic Tour de France," American Literature: Duke University, North Carolina, 1974. p. 107. Oehlshlaeger, Fritz. "The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson: Meaning of Context in 'The Lottery'." Essays in Literature. No. 2, Fall, 1988. p. 259, 261. Oppenheimer, Judy. Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson. G.P. Putnam's Sons: New York, 1988. p. 45, 60. Park, John G. "Waiting for the End: Shirley jackson's 'The Sundial'." Critique: Studies in Modern Fiction, No. 3., 1978. p. 21, 22. Wolff, Geoffrey. "Shirley Jackson's 'Magic Style'." The New Leader. No. 17. 9 September 1968. p. 18. Woodruff, Stuart. "The Real Horror Elsewhere: Shirley Jackson's Last Novel." Southwest Review. Spring, 1967. p. 155.