The HalloweEn Party Analysis

The theme of the story “The Lottery” is blind acceptance of something just because it is considered tradition. In Jackson’s “The Lottery”, symbols are utilized to help show the theme. The name of the story, “The Lottery”, itself is a symbol. The term lottery can be viewed, by most, as a good thing, a hope in winning, but winning the lottery takes on a very different, very dark meaning in Jackson’s story. Also, the names of the characters are symbols as well. For example, Graves is a name that would portray death and Summers is a bright and cheerful name. Also, the name Old Man Warner would show tradition. Next, is the use of the black box and the black dot on the paper. The color black is showing darkness, evil, and death. The tradition of the black box is a symbol, in the fact that it is worn and faded, but still used by the villagers. Shirley Jackson conveys the theme very clearly through the use of symbols. In the end, the villagers are shown to be evil and murderous just because of tradition. The villagers do not seem to have a problem with murdering others within the lottery because it is what they have always done and no one is going to declare that what they are doing is wrong. This shows the reader that following blindly can have dangerous consequences.

Shirley Jackson also utilizes literary devices to good effect in “The Lottery,” especially that of symbolism. By keeping the setting devoid of any identifying details, Jackson frees the reader to imagine that it could be any place. The only constraints that the author places on her readers’ creativity are that the town is decidedly rural, perhaps narrowing the critique to the cultural scene most frequently associated with small town America. Other symbols include the box from which the lottery slips are drawn (an old and black object which heralds death), stoning as a method of execution (a particularly old and excruciating way to kill someone), and ritual itself (a series of often ill contemplated actions for which one needs no particular reason to follow). All of these, with their marked reference to age, clearly refer to tradition.

In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson mentions a box that is used for the drawing of the lottery.The black box, “holding everyone's future” is an example of symbolism. The black box represents a new beginning, or in this instance the end. Though it represents symbolism, it is also tied to tradition. Shirley Jackson describes tradition in the story as an unsuitable act for society and as if “the lottery” should be done away with. Thus revealing the struggle of Tradition VS. Man. Jackson reveals, “There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been

In the short story, The Lottery, Jackson tells a rich symbolic story of a little village that practiced the art of sacrificing a person annually, to ensure the success of the cultivation of crops. One of the rhetorical devices that was used heavily was the practice of symbolism throughout the short story. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas and opinions that the author has, and we see a various number of different symbols, be it an object, a name, or possibly even a concept, that can be established, in The Lottery, as the reader tries to make sense of the situation at hand. In The Lottery, Jackson used the name of characters and their actions to symbolize and depict how twisted and hypocritical society is, and also used the objects and the ideas that were practiced in the short story to show the shortcomings of a society that practices outdated and rudimentary traditions that hold no place in a civilized society.

A symbol of the lottery's ongoing legacy, the same box has been used for years. It was believed to be made from scraps of the original black box which fell apart through the course of its use. When the citizens are brought the idea that the box should be changed, the whole thing was let to pass. "Mr. Summers," the town's lottery official, "spoke frequently about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much as tradition as was represented by the black box." (Jackson 422) This illustrates the people are blind to the idea of even tampering with their sacred box. They have grown with the tradition and find discomfort in the idea of change. "Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done." (Jackson 422) With the keyword "allowed," it illustrates the people's reaction by ignorance. Every year the suggestion is made, and every year the suggestion is purposely disregarded for the sake that their tradition be unchanged. There is a sense that should the box be changed, so should the lottery and it's purpose. "Some places already quit lotteries," Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly, "Pack of young fools." (Jackson 425) This illustrates the beliefs of a majority. Old Man Warner being the oldest man in the town was looked upon

By looking at “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson from a Marxist perspective, we can gain a better understanding of the text. Note that Jackson wrote this short story in 1948, near the beginning of the Cold War. Since the village possesses some communist ideologies (a major class difference doesn’t exist and the proletarians lead), we can expect Jackson to express these ideologies in a negative way. To analyze “The Lottery” from a Marxist perspective, we must examine the class structures, the village’s ideologies, and whether the main character supports or defies the dominant ideology.

The shabby black box symbolizes the deterioration of ritual itself. The original of the box loses long time ago, and no one is sure that the black present box actually makes from the original box’s pieces. This proves the ritual also loses and nobody in the village knows the real meaning of the ritual they are practicing every year. The villagers do not care about the box’s appearance; the color fades, and they put the box all in different places. The townspeople seem to take pride in the ritual of the lottery but the box that represents the ritual is not respected. They do not even think of replacing it. There is no good and logical reason for them to keep holding the lottery because the lottery itself has lost the meaning long time ago, and the only thing left is cruelty. In one of the paragraphs, the narrator tells how the townspeople talk about the official of the lottery, “some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching” (257). The lottery really changed with time. The townspeople changed few things because they believe those things are no longer necessary and needed. However, the brutal ritual is the one they should discard but they keep holding it. In another paragraph, the narrator says, “Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generation” (256-257). The story’s third person point of view is successful proving that although lots of the rituals, songs, salute, the black box and wood chips of the lottery have been changed, forgotten or discarded over times, the townspeople still hold the cruel ritual firmly without logical reason. They have no idea what rules they should follow and which should be discarded. This

As the town prepares for the lottery, the villagers all converge together at the town square and talk and wait for everyone to arrive. That’s when Mr.Summers enters, carrying a large black box. The box is described as having many flaws and peeling black paint. Then Jackson writes this line, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one like to upset even as much tradition as represented about the black box” From this line the box obviously has a long history. There is a village-wide uncertainty about messing with the black box, which gives an ominous feel to the sentence. It raises the questions ‘why would they not want to change the tradition?’ ‘how long has this been going on?’ The reader is now very invested in what the box could symbolize. And it symbolizes the tradition. The box is the same box used the year before and the year before that and so on. The box itself is a physical symbol that represents the traditionalism of the

At the beginning of the story the author uses foreshadowing to show the reader there is something causing anxiousness for the town’s people. The author wrote “school was recently over for the summer and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them” and “their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed” these quotes show the nervous/anxious behavior of the town’s people. The author also uses foreshadowing to explain more about what the lottery is. This quote “ Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example; selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix… eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and

The symbols in the story reflect the need to change tradition. The lottery symbolizes the importance of tradition. "[It] was conducted – as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program" and is held every late June (Jackson 1). It is completely normal and accepted by the villagers as most traditions are, but the lottery results in a villager being stoned to death. A village that approves a tradition that goes against moral principles and ends with murder has societal issues and needs to change the lottery ritual. A part of the ritual requires a black box and the symbol of the box is another indication that something is wrong in the village's society. The ritual box is like Pandora's box which contains evil. The colour of the box represents chaos, evil, and death and the villagers recognize that "tradition … was represented by the black box" (1). The box is used for the sole purpose of determining which villager will be stoned to death. It is even place on a three-legged stool which symbolizes the Holy Trinity's or spiritual support of the black box. The box is a symbol for the deadly tradition held each year. A tradition against moral values, yet it is performed each year without hesitation displaying an issue in the village society and a need to change tradition.

In the short story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the use of symbolism is evident throughout the short story. We as the readers first see the use of symbolism in the text when the sacred black box is brought out into the town square where people are gathered to one by one draw a piece of paper from out of the box. While the box is viewed as a long standing tradition within the community the

Authors Jackson and Lawrence use symbolism as a device to bring to light the cherished items that have a symbolic message for each individual. In "The Lottery," the black box represented tradition for the townspeople. The black box was a keepsake for the town; "The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born" (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, p. 251). Ironically, from a historical perspective, the black box is equivalent towards the lottery as a whole; without the box, tradition can become easily upsetting. According to Jackson, "no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box" (as cited in Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, p. 251). One can also infer that perhaps the black box symbolizes a multitude of purposes, such as a possession of secrets, a casket in reference to death, or part of the old-town charm. Nevertheless, the lottery was a disguised attempt for the townspeople to

Author Shirley Jackson uses symbolism, motif and great detail throughout the story, “The Lottery” in an effort to portray a ritualistic behavior that the townspeople call their “tradition”. The reader is left with the decision as to whether or not this “tradition” is ritualistic or inhumane. The townspeople congregate in the town square for traditional purposes where the Lottery will occur. The short story opens to a serene scene. “Clear and sunny’ morning, it sounds as if it is going to be a peaceful day but takes a sudden turn for the worse. The symbolism in this story is important to the message being conveyed. The townspeople’s ritual comes before any other aspect in their town even family. Family is one of the most important things in

In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson Shows a lot of attention to the details that give you imagery of what is happening. The black box is a good example of her attention to details that puts a very depicted image into the reader's mind. While she is describing the black box she tells about how old the box is, older than old man warner who has been around for 77 lotterys. When Jackson introduces the box she talks about how the tradition was built in the box and how they thought that the old box that had been lost long ago was built into the new box. Jackson also touches on the fact that Mr. Joe Summers, who runs the lottery, tries to convince the town residents to build a new box, but the residents are so stuck up in the tradition that they will not even consider. When Jackson Describes the box she says,”The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.”, this goes to show that many of the residents take this box as the way the lottery will always stay in tradition. Another way that Jackson shows her great use of details and imagery is in her account of the events that she describes. “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. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 2th. but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole

Returning to the Pasadena Convention Center this August, the first Halloween convention ScareLA is bigger and better than ever before.