How Does Shirley Jackson Use Symbolism In The Lottery

In her text “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing to develop the central idea that people’s real nature is inhumanity and they follow the traditions that develop this inhuman nature of their. By the end of the story, the narrator has come to the understanding that people are no longer humans they are savages and “The Lottery” that they do every summer is just as violent as their true nature. Even though “The Lottery” start innocently, it’s begin to change when the author gives us a small clues about the purpose of “The Lottery”. As people read the story they may not notice an author's clues about the way the story goes, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of

When most people play the lottery today, they think about having wealth. Generally, people who win are happy about it whether they win one dollar or a million. The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the “winner” was the member of the town who was not sacrificed? This question is answered in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” In reading this story, and reading literary criticism about the story, there were many symbols and much symbolism in this story.

When many people think about a lottery, they think about the possibility of winning million dollar jackpots. Lottery ticket buyers hope that eventually one day, they will be the lucky winner to take home enough money to afford their greatest dreams and desires. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the lottery that takes place drastically differs from the common win big lotteries of the modern day; rather, in this lottery, the citizens win big if they don’t get chosen for the lottery and get to keep their lives. Leaders of this village tell the citizens that they need to go through with this tradition In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” from 1948, she uses a Darwinism lens, criticism from current historical events, and literary elements such as foreshadowing and symbolism to show that human nature mindlessly follows tradition to be accepted in society and to survive.

Within the first few lines of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" we are faced with such adjectives as clear, sunny, fresh and warmth. She goes on to paint a picture of small children just out of school for the summer, as the townspeople gather for the annual Lottery. This leads us to believe that the rest of the story is as cheery as the summer day initially described. We as the readers are virtually unaware of the horrible senseless events that lie ahead. Through the use of symbolism Shirley Jackson reveals the underlying decay of ethics that results from an empty ritual followed by narrow-minded people.

On the other hand, the villagers stoning the winner of the lottery was used as a symbol of punishment. It is one of the most established and common execution methods. However, in The Lottery, the stones represent victory of the lottery. Shirley Jackson stated that, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (Jackson 291). Stoning is symbolic in “The Lottery” because, “For stoning to be effective it requires a crowd to act together. This reinforces the point that the antagonist of this story it is not a single person but society” (Gahr). For instance, this means that the immorality of the village is so severe that the antagonist is not just one person but society itself. How do you think the villagers feel when their children were caught up in this senseless tradition by collecting stones? It is obvious that the villagers were following tradition that was done every year. “What about allowing a child to be a child?” For example; playing with toy cars and trucks, coloring books and Barbie’s, or getting push by their parents on a swing at a park. Children should not be allowed to partake in an event so gruesome and violent or seen raising anything to aggressively hurt an adult.

In her story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson manages to catch the readers’ attention and ultimately shock them with an unexpected ending; all of which help her emphasize her critique toward the dark side of human nature and the evil that resides, sometimes, in those who we less expect it from. Jackson uses symbolism throughout the story that helps her set the mood and also makes the readers wonder and analyze the senseless violence and cruelty in their own lives.

“…but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.”

In stories there will be objects that will constantly be mentioned within the story. This is what is known as Symbolism. Symbolism is the use of object, name, or person to represent an idea. If a name is being use, a name such as autumn can represent the adulthood of a human. Creatures such as an Eagle, represents ‘Freedom’ and ‘America’. Even inanimate objects can represent ideas; the light bulb represents ideas that just sparked into a character’s head.

Symbolism is used throughout The Lottery in the character names. Author, Shirley Jackson, uses the name of, Mr. Graves, to foreshadow the story and explain what “The Lottery” really is. Mr. Graves is the one who carries the three-legged stool which could indicate two things: the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or it could mean the past, present and future, saying that “The Lottery” will always be among the people of the village. In addition, he is also the owner of the post office and as the Postmaster, he delivers the news of the lottery on who will get stoned to death. Mr. Graves name signals the tombstones, death, and a cemetery. As well as Mr. Graves, Mr. Summers name also serves a symbolic purpose. He runs clubs and

Shirley Jackson tells use about a small town in June that is having their yearly lottery drawing. Shirley Jackson uses a lot of symbolism and characterization to tell about their tradition. Jackson also uses symbolism to tell the reader how long the tradition has went on by describing how old things are and some of the people. In her book,“The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson emphasizes the danger of accepting tradition through her portrayal of setting, characterization, and symbolism. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving things symbolic meaning.

One second…whether it is homicide… two seconds… or suicide… three seconds…on earth a person dies every second. Approximately that is eighty-six thousand and four hundred human beings dying per day. In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses symbolism of the character Mr. Graves, the black mark, the stones, and the black box to develop the theme of death. For example, Mr. Graves represents death in the story.

In the short story “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses symbolism and imagery to convey the message that blindly following traditions can negatively impact society. While reading this story, there begins to be a more powerful meaning behind the words. It starts to emerge when the author uses imagery like this “ Because so much of the ritual forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips substituted for the chips of wood that have been used for generations.” The theme emerges with this image because the people don’t really know or care about why they are the following a certain tradition.

In Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery, a small village holds a Lottery every year where everyone must draw from a box to determine who gets stoned. When Mrs.Hutchinson’s family is chosen she argues that her married children should have to be in the drawing too, although the tables end up turning on her when she gets chosen. The purpose of the Lottery is to help relieve the town of anger and help keep the town in balance. On lines (256-259)

can be interpreted in a different way. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short

Shirley Jackson 's 'The Lottery ', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery ' clearly expresses Jackson 's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery, ' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.