Theme Of Symbolism In The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s use of characters is very detrimental to keeping the theme of the story lively. Whether they play a minor or significant role to the story each character reveals a lot of information about the tradition of the lottery and its intentions, varying from subtle to obvious details. One of the most important characters is Old Man Warner, an elderly man who is very conservative about the preservation of this tradition He holds it dearly to his heart, despite the fact that this tradition is slowly deteriorating in villages around him. Old Man Warner represents the stubborn nature of all the townspeople who are reluctant to

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.

Most people have some sort of tradition that they follow, be it a family tradition or a morning routine, while most are harmless or have some positive effect there are a few that exist that are negative. This could be made worse if one such negative tradition takes over their life. In “The Lottery” the townsfolk gather for what at first seems like a harmless, fun tradition, a yearly lottery. But, as the story progresses it becomes apparent that there is more going on that first meets the eye. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” uses symbolism to show the theme: tradition isn’t always right, dialogue to get readers predicting and start to reveal the sinister nature of what was really going on in the story, and revealing actions to raise the

Shirley Jackson, the author of the short story “The Lottery” is an unusual story of a town caught in a trap of following tradition. Shirley Jackson uses many symbols in the story to relate to the theme. By doing this it helps the reader understand the story and the message she is trying to get across. Jackson uses tone, setting, and symbolism to conduct a theme for her readers. By doing this she creates connections to the theme by using the black box and old man Warner as a symbol.

Traditions are widespread among many different people and cultures; It is an explanation for acting without thinking. Not all traditions are a good thing, though, and blindly following them can lead to harsh consequences. The villagers in a small town in “The Lottery” gather together annually to participate in this tradition, where one person in the town is randomly chosen in a drawing to be violently stoned to death by citizens. It has been around for seventy-seven years and everyone partakes in it. People always attend, showing the importance of tradition amongst the society. However, in the short story, “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses many literary devices to show that traditions are not always meant to be followed.

To a first time reader, Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” seems simply as a curious tale with a shocking ending. After repetitive reading of Jackson's tale, it is clear that each sentence is written with a unique purpose often using symbolism. Her use of symbols not only foreshadow its surprise and disturbing ending but allows the reader to evaluate the community's pervert traditional rituals. She may be commenting on the season of the year and the grass being “richly green” or the toying with the meanings of the character's names but each statement applies to the meaning and lesson behind her story.

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

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story based on a fictional village that holds a macabre ritual. Although the regularity was not stated within the tale, the story speaks of a regular gathering of the village folk to conduct some form of lottery. In a disturbing twist of the tale, the winner of the lottery doesn’t get to receive a prize, but instead, suffer the indignity of being killed by getting stoned to death by friends, family, and neighbors. Mrs. Hutchinson is the unfortunate soul, who, despite her pleas and protests has no option but accept her fate. In a similarly titled story, The Lottery by Chris Abani talks about an incident he witnessed when he went to the market with his aunt. In the story, Abani explains how he

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

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 wrote the story “The Lottery” back in 1948 to show us how ridiculous it could be to blindly follow certain traditions. In this story the author uses symbolisms to warn and prepare the reader about the gruesome ending of the lottery. There are a lot of symbols in the story and the main are the items, the lottery and the character names.

All around the world today thousands of people die from murder and the numbers increase every year. Our world is filled with violence and tragedies that keep increasing, just like in, Shirley Jackson's story “The Lottery.” The characters in a small village choose someone to stone to death each year because of tradition. As this tradition continues, more and more people die as time passes. All of the towns folk grow more and more nervous, hoping not to get picked. They gather in the town square to choose the person who is killed in this unfortunate event as you meet characters like the hutchinsons, Mr. Graves, and Mr. Summers as they go through the fear of being picked. As the children pile up stones that they use for the killing. All

Symbolism is a key part of making a good story. It defines and helps you comprehend the story in a new way. It also introduces new viewpoints and effects the plot. The significance symbolism of animals, colors, and objects are seen throughout stories such as the veldt, monsters on maple street and the lottery.

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.