What Is The Symbolism In The Lottery

In the short story, “The Lottery”, Jackson’s use of symbols reveals a twisting plot that isn’t recognizable until nearly at the end of the story. Her use of third person point of view is

A literary device element that was used in “The Lottery” was setting. Setting from the story relates to the theme of false hopes. As it developed throughout the article, it shows that it took place during the summer time in June in a small village of 300 people. The description of the day states that it “ Was clear and sunny, fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green”(Jackson 1). The quote relates to the theme of false hopes because when you read this you think it is going to be a nice day and good things are going to happen. In reality this is a day that most do not look forward to, and a day that carries the tradition of death.

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.

“The Lottery” has many symbols that help create the sinister and somber tone of the story. The black box from which the papers are drawn as well as the black dot on the paper are both symbolic of death. Black is a universally accepted

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.

The short story “The Lottery” was written in 1948 by Shirley Jackson. It was first published in a popular magazine, The New Yorker (Kirszner & Mandell 419). The story starts out on a pleasant summer day but has a much darker ending. This instantly caused mass confusion and anger by most of the magazine's readers. Some readers even canceled their subscription to the magazine. Although the readers demanded answers, Jackson refused to give any explanation of the story. The best explanation was from a literary editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, who was also confused by the story. Jackson explained that the story was written to shock the readers by dramatizing the pointless violence and inhumanity in their own lives (The New Yorker). This

The dialogue used for this purpose is the conversation between Mr. Adams, Mrs. Adams, and Old Man Warner on page 4 while they are waiting for the lottery results and waiting their turn to take their paper. Readers can use this conversation to make predictions because of the way they talked about the lottery. This begins on page 4 when Mr. Adams says,“They do say… over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.” this was a seemingly harmless comment at the time, but it becomes evident that there is more meaning to it when Old Man Warner responds. He states,“Pack of crazy fools… Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them… There’s always been a lottery.”(Jackson 4). This shows that Old Man Warner takes the lottery unusually seriously, so readers will likely begin to predict that there is more to the lottery than previously thought. The last piece of the conversation that starts to reveal the sinister nature and get readers predicting is when Old Man Warner says,“Seventy-seventh year I’ve been in the lottery… Seventy-seventh time.” this is a noticeably odd comment so readers likely infer that there is something more meant by this so they may begin to think about the other things that were said in this piece of dialogue that seemed off. If you combine what you can learn

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.

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.

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 Lottery" begins with a description of a bright and serene setting. The morning the event took place "was clear and sunny, with a fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson

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

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.

The setting and tone in "The Lottery" are very important aspects that give the reader a sense of where they are and an overall feeling of what the story should be like. At the start, Jackson is very specific in describing the setting of her story. She says "The morning