Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Symbols also play a crucial role in making this story. The black box represents the tradition. It is even made out of previous black boxes that have been used in the village for previous lotteries. At first, both the lottery and the black box appear rather innocent, but they both actually hold something full of malice. Additionally, both of these things have

Through her use of setting, which on the surface appears to be light-hearted and commonplace, Jackson masks and emphasizes the shock and horror of the story’s ending. Jackson first depicts a light and merry setting when she describes the day of the lottery. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” By detailing the day in a bubbly way, Jackson veils the idea that nothing bad

The most typical thing that shows up in "The Lottery" is the black box. This box is an image for those in the town since it is one of the main associations with the birthplace of the lottery. The shabby black box speaks to both the convention of the lottery and the illogic of the villagers' dependability to it. The black box is almost unrepairable, with peices of wood sticking out, yet the villagers are unwilling to replace it. This is a part of the tradition, from which nobody wants to change. The lottery must occur simply along these lines since this is the way it's always been. The black box is a physical appearance of the villagers' association with belief.

“The Lottery,” which is a famous short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, described the view of an annual lottery event in a small village. In the beginning of the story, on June 27 in each summer, the lottery occurs; all people in the village gather at the spare, and they express their excitement to find out the winner of the lottery. However, there is a totally surprising ending in the story of Shirley Jackson. The prize of the lottery is not any money or gift, which we expect. It is the death by throwing stones at Tessie Hutchinson, the person who wins the black spot on the lottery ticket. In “The Lottery,” the author created many significant symbols to draw a picture of the traditional, but bizarre lottery. These three symbols, which contribute to express the cruelty of the blind belief in fogy custom of the village, are the meaningful name of the story, “The Lottery,” the black spot on the winning ticket and the stones.

Jackson also uses symbolism to show the reader how blindly following old traditions can lead to the murder of an innocent person. One symbol that she uses in the story is the tradition of the lottery that has been practiced in the village for years. Jackson states in the story that “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program” (The Lottery). This indicates that the lottery was a normal thing for the villagers even though they were aware that someone was going to get killed at the end of the lottery. The villagers treated the lottery as any other normal tradition. The lottery represents a tradition that has been going on for generations and no one questions it even if it seems cruel and illogical. One of the characters named Old Man Warner is so much committed to the tradition that he believes that if they stop holding the lottery people will return to the olden days. In the story when Mr. Adams says that they are talking about giving up the lottery in the north village, Old Man Warner responds by saying “Listening to

It was a warm day that would end with a kind of tragedy even though the town’s people see it as something that has to happen. The lottery was something that took place as a tradition as a sacrifice for crops. One person would be stoned at the end of the lottery and in this case it was Tessie Hutchinson, a mother and a wife. In the story the main conflict is the lottery because it ends with the death of one of the towns people. There are many emotional triggers in the story, one being that someone asks Tessie’s own child pick up a rock and help stone her to death. Another one in this story is the helplessness that Tessie faced once she knew that she was the so called “winner” of the lottery, she helpless yells “It isn't fair, it isn't right.” In the story, the lottery is a metaphor for traditions that are used to inflict harm. It can be comparable to many traditions of today’s society that could be harmful to

Shirley Jackson is said to be one of the most “brilliant and influential authors of the twentieth century.” “Her fiction writing is some of the most important to come out of the American literary canon.” (http://shirleyjackson.org/Reviews.html) Jackson wrote many short stories and even some books. They are more on the dark, witchlike side, however. Kelleher explains that Jackson stated in some interviews that she practiced magic. No one really knows if she was serious while practicing witchcraft or not, but it ended up helping her write her stories http://www.literarytraveler.com/literary_articles/shirley_jackson_bennington.aspx). A major story that throws people for a loop is “The Lottery”. This was Jackson’s first short story and many

In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In

He believes by retiring the tradition that "They'll be wanting to go back to living in caves" (254). According to Mr. Warner, the lottery is the only thing keeping society stable. As a man of superstition he thinks that a human sacrifice is the only logical answer for insuring that their crops are good, seen in the line "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (254). Mr. Warner accepts the way things are because this is the way they have always been. Changing tradition would be disastrous in his eyes. The other main symbol in "The Lottery" is the black box. Unlike old man Warner, the black box represents the absence of tradition. This is because the box itself has not been passed down, rather it has only been the ideas and rituals that were passed through generations. Only pieces of the original box remain. In the beginning of the lottery the villagers used wood chips instead of paper. Over the years the small details of the lottery have been lost and all that remains is the true intention of it. The villagers are blindly following a ritual that has lost most of the tradition, and only holding lotteries simply because there has always been one.

Symbolism is a powerful device in fiction and writers frequently turn to it in overt and subtle ways. Sometimes a time or place is symbolic of a state of being, just as ordinary objects may take on greater meaning because of what they represent: themselves, but also a condition, feeling, or manifestation of something of great importance to a character. It is also possible, however, for symbolism to expand in a way that actually provides the foundation of a work, and this is the case in Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery.” In essence, Jackson has something disturbing to say about humanity and the force of tribal ritual. To that end, she creates a world that is itself wholly symbolic, even as there are smaller elements of symbolism within it. She also develops suspense based very much on the expansive symbolism of the environment. In “The Lottery,” Jackson gives evidence of how symbolism may be utilized to make a reality entirely on its own, and present a particular idea.

“The Lottery” takes place in a small village of only three hundred people in America. The beginning of the story sets a scene of a beautiful summer day in which the flowers are in full bloom and everyone is out and about, getting prepared for the mysterious event only referred to as “the lottery.” The children are depicted collecting stones, but no reason for this is given. The leader of the village’s coal business, Mr. Summers, and other men of the village prepare for the lottery as a crowd gathers. They bring out a black box containing slips of paper. A woman named Mrs. Hutchinson hurries over, apparently late. Mr. Summers takes role and after role is taken, one person from each

Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent the human race as cruel no matter how righteous he or she may see themselves, or how perfect their way of life may seem to be. The story is very effective in making the reader question the unnecessary nature humans express, especially when it comes to tradition or violent behavior. Jackson effectively expresses her beliefs concerning mankind’s true nature that is commonly masked behind tradition. The author portrays how inhumane and cruel people can be when it comes to their values and everyday life. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism is shown throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' objects, contestant’s names and numbers.

The theme and moral of the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson; is to show readers how people will blindly be accepting to bad actions, because it is considered as tradition. In Jackson’s short story “The Lottery”, she was trying to inform the readers, how important is to question the things that goes on around us. Instead of being blind followers or like the blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). The lottery was a traditional ritual that took place every year, in a small village made up of about 300 people. This traditional ritual ultimately determines which person will be sacrificed. The husbands of each family households are called up to draw a marked paper from a black wooden box. Unfortunately, the Hutchinson household ends up picking the paper marked with a black spot on it, and the mother Tessie Hutchinson ends up being the sacrifice. Which resulted in her being stoned to death by the villagers, including her own family members. What most readers might find mind boggling

The thoughts that come to mind when thinking of the lottery are those of excitement and hope, but that is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. Although the author introduces a town in a beautiful summer day, as we continue to read we discover the town is actually far from perfect. Not only is Jackson trying to shed a light on issues such as, gender inequality throughout this short story but also pointless violence and holding onto tradition due to fear.

We first become suspicious of the town’s ritual when it is mentioned that the surrounding towns have considered to not participate in the ritual or have stopped performing it altogether, “They do say… that over in the north village they’re talking about giving up the lottery” (Jackson, 30). This shows that the surrounding towns around them have demonstrated some level of critical thinking in respect to what they currently value and accept as a progressive society. Unlike the surrounding towns, the town that “The Lottery” is set in displays the repercussions of a traditionalist mentality. The town the story is set in is apathetic to change and, therefore, must deal with the consequences of playing mindless sheep. It is not until one’s very last moment of life that an understanding for how unjust and almost barbaric the ritual truly is. “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example… eventually [making] a great pile of stones in one corner” (2). When we are first introduced to the visual, we can’t help but dismiss it as an innocent act. It is not