Sttoning And Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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.

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.

Thesis: The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson found in Perrine's Literature written by Thomas R. Arp is a story full of symbolism.

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.

Authors use symbolism in order to substitute a hidden meaning within an action, person, idea, object, or setting. Symbols carry the weight to make a story more meaningful and can be used to help the reader make connections between the story and the outside world. On the 27th of June, a village gathers to conduct a lottery, where one chosen person will be stoned to death. This ritual, done each and every year, is planted in biblical roots and exemplifies the role of tradition within the town. This sacramental ceremony in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” has many aspects which all possess a symbolic meaning and incorporate another degree of depth to the story.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, every year a town has a lottery with the whole population included. Mr. Summers, the head of the organization, places everyone’s name in a jar, including children and family members. He will pull one name out and the person on the slip’s family will be drawn to have rocks thrown at them. This story might seem like a traditional piece of writing when reading it, but what message or specific choices might stick into people’s brains, and how can it be analyzed? Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery”, utilizes imagery and symbolism to express that society controls traditions and all traditions have their own consequences.

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

Symbolism in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” The main theme in “The Lottery,” is symbolism, without this imperative theme the lottery would be your mundane story of a stoning. Yet, it's so much more symbolic of the problems that are faced in society ranging from nonsensical traditions to the inherent, violent nature of humans. The lottery itself is a tradition which is symbolic of nonsensical past traditions that are unquestioned and followed blindly by our societies regardless of the moral implications.

The structural analysis provides the reader with fine details that give the story a much greater meaning. Patterns and motifs usually build the structural context of the novel or story. Shirley Jackson utilizes small, specific, and almost unnoticeable details to set up the whole story for the final scenes. Jackson also uses a lack of information to build the structure of The Lottery. By not telling the whole story she builds suspense and shock.

“The Lottery” In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the story elements interact with each other to give a twist and surprise ending to the reader. One of the story elements that helped create a surprise ending is the setting. For instance, Jackson says that on the day that the lottery took place it “... was clear and sunny, with the warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 10). From reading this passage, the reader would get a good feeling, believing the story has a happy ending. For an example, the adjective Jackson used, “sunny.”

“Every group feels strong, once it has found a scapegoat” (Mignon McLaughlin, 1913). A scapegoat is someone who is blamed for all the faults and corruptions that others have committed. In history, there are lots of scapegoat examples, the most popular being; Jesus Christ and the Jews in the Second World War. In the short story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson used persecution and tradition to demonstrate how scapegoating justified unfair killing. Both of these aspects relate to the World War that preceded only a couple years before the story was written. The persecution was blind and done once a year as a tradition that everyone expected to happen.

“There were so many wicked people in the world and only one Strangeworth left in town.” Shirley Jackson was an outstanding writer. Some of her famous stories were The Lottery, The Possibility of Evil, and The Order of Charlotte’s Going. Most of her stories have one character that goes out of their way to save themselves. In each story, Shirley Jackson writes it is clear that she uses symbols in her stories to express the true meaning of the story or situation. She also uses symbols to prepare you for what happens next. Some symbols help people to understand the story more. Some Symbols Shirley Jackson expresses in her stories are Old Man Warner in The Lottery, The snake in The Order of Charlotte’s Going, and The letters in The possibility of Evil.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story written in 1948. Due to World War II ending around this time, her story took some strong criticism. The people at that time wanted uplifting stories, and this story is the very opposite because of its underlying theme of tradition and conformity. “The Lottery” shows that no matter the tradition or belief, people will not stray from their daily routine because humans are creatures of habit, and are scared to wonder from what we know. Jackson writes by providing the reader with little details at first.Then making the reader put the information all together to come to the conclusion that people will never change. Jackson then creates symbols of tradition and conformity by adding details, using specific objects, and”The Lottery” itself.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a creepy short story. In this story, people draw the lottery once a year. The Lottery which held at a square in the morning of June 27th, who picked up the paper with a black spot was Mrs. Hutchinson. She claimed that the lottery of the year is unfair, but the villagers take her life without considering opinions. The central idea of “The Lottery” is that the blind tradition and custom cannot justify persecution.