What Is The Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly average town meeting turns sinister. In the beginning, the townspeople are gathering in the square of their village on a beautiful, clear and sunny day, which later can be seen as ironic. The characters carry out normal small talk and discussion as they wait for the traditional lottery to begin. At this point, most readers have no clue that an atrocious event will soon be taking place. As the story moves forward, a strong sense of traditionalism ripples throughout the pages and in the characters. The lucky winner of the town’s annual lottery, to the reader’s shock and horror, receives stones being pelted at them until their untimely death. Jackson uses symbols such as the setting and the black box to display the general theme of the short story and force the reader to question traditions.

1.  "The Lottery" is set in a village with a population of three hundred people on a "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day". The opening the story leads the reader to believe that it is lighthearted and fun however, reading further in it is revealed that the lottery is a raffle for death by stones. At first the mood is peaceful and almost playful but, shifts into a dark and horrifying mood towards the end of the story. The authors tone stays the same the whole time, the narrator seems almost indifferent towards what is happening.

Shirley Jackson’s greatest tool, in revealing her theme to her audience, is the use of symbolism through various objects and actions. Jackson uses “the pile of stones the boys had made earlier” as an act of outdated ritualistic violence, stoning Tessie to death solely because the villagers “still remembered to use stones” as a symbol of people doing things only because they always have (256). One of the biggest objects that Jackson uses in her story, in fact she mentions it thirty-three times to support its significance, is the diversely symbolic box which the narrator introduces to the audience as Mr. Summers “arrives in the square with it.” The narrator symbolically states that “the black box grows shabbier each year” continuing that “it

We can tell that something is not quite right. The tone changes from being normal to sinister. This is when we realize the purpose of the lottery. Jackson does a good job of hiding what is actually going on. You have no idea when you start reading based on the tone of the story that this event will end with someone being stoned to death. This style in which the story is written increases the impact that the story’s actual meaning has on the reader. “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her.”It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head.”

The lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948 and was published in the New Yorker.This is not a true story. The short story took place in the square in the village. The village has a lottery every year. Villagers would say “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” The man of each household had to pick a piece of paper out of a black box. The “winner” got a black dot on the paper; the “winning” family would have to draw out of the box. Someone in the family would get the black dot, if they did they would be stoned to death. The central theme to The Lottery is the power of tradition. Somebody mentioned people are changing the tradition but he got “shot down”. They have been doing the tradition for so long they have never stopped

Let us choose one American city/town before the 1900s and travel back in time for the day. As travelers, we would certainly realize the change in environment. For instance, men, out in business suits working during the day while the women are taking care of the home and children. It would become clear that men dominate that era. Then, we would come back to this year and see the obvious change.

Upon completion of “The Lottery”, one may be perplexed with the overall meaning of the story. Shirley Jackson’s tale of an unusual ritual with a horrific ending has a deeper context. The overall theme of “The Lottery” is public execution which is justified by a revered tradition of the villagers. Once finished with the tale and pondering on the deeper meaning of the text, the reader is aware that the meaning behind the true meaning of the lottery has been lost through time. The younger generation of villagers are unknowingly committing a crime by participating in the lottery, due to the essence of the tradition has been lost and strayed away from by the citizens of the village.

In the beginning of the story the author gave you many of details about everything, e.g., the surroundings and the people, “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” except what the lottery is about. While your mind is filled with all the unnecessary details that you're being fed, and how peaceful the town and public seems, the author actually has surprise for you which is whatever you're thinking about the town and the public is unquestionably incorrect. As you are close to finishing the story you'll see that the lottery is actually evil and whoever wins is brutally killed by the people of the town with rocks. No one in the town thought about what they were doing was wrong because everyone else was doing it so they automatically didn't even realize that what everyone was doing was downright evil and

When someone hears the word lottery, they automatically assume it is a good thing. The lottery is a drawing, and whoever wins takes home so much money that they never have to work again in their life. No one in America sees the lottery as a bad or dangerous thing. In this short story the word lottery has a completely different and twisted meaning. The symbols in this story include the black box, the stones, the people, and the lottery itself.

As Tessie’s protests continue and the Hutchinson family prepares to draw again the sense of apprehension is one again mounting, this time fearing for whoever wins yet still not knowing what their “prize” will be. “The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, ‘I hope it’s not Nancy’”, the silence and fear of the crowds manifests in the reader as the three children and their parents all draw slips of paper. Tessie “wins” the lottery and when the narrator explains “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual, and lost they original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (6) its suddenly shockingly clear to the readers what the winner is to receive. The drastic switch from a light and cheerful tone with talk of the beautiful day and children playing to the closing like of “and they were upon her” (7) is in part why this story is so effective. The unforeseen sinister end of the story makes the revelation of the tradition much more shocking and unsettling than had the reader known from the beginning what the outcome would be. Jackson very effectively builds a sense of apprehension and foreboding as she slowly cues the reader into the reality of the situation.

When incorporated well, symbolism enhances a story’s overall impact. Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” contains symbolism to affect the readers’ feelings as well as add interest. The story begins with the villagers gathering at the square to participate in the lottery. The villagers chat while waiting for the event to begin. After Mr. Summers comes with a black box, he stirs the pieces of paper in the box. The narrators describe the lottery as an old ritual that the community continues to respect. Once Tessie Hutchinson arrives, the lottery starts and the men pick a slip of paper from the black box. Bill Hutchinson has selected the special slip and Tessie doesn’t believe it’s fair. The Hutchinson’s family member draw from the box and Tessie ends up with the paper with the black spot. The lottery’s intention is revealed as the community crowds around Tessie, stoning her to death. Jackson constructs a compelling story with the symbols used, such as the lottery and the stoning.

Lastly, The title of the ¨The Lottery¨ kinda brings the feeling that someone is going to win something. The story has a different idea of winning something as theirs mean death. The village idea of winning is actually being stoned. It takes awhile to fully understand that stoning and dying is what is going on but when you look at the evidence it is clear that is what is happening. As the villagers are gathering in the square ¨Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones¨ (Jackson 391) preparing themselves for later that day. The villagers now knew who was going to die and started picking up rocks¨ Tessie Hutchinson was in the center

Although both of the stories are different they both have similar themes. In ‘’The Lottery’’ by Shirley Jackson it says don’t follow the crowd. In ‘’First they came’’ by Martin Niemoller he didn’t stand up for those being killed in World War 2. They both didn’t stand up against people.

Tradition; it is the back bone of every culture and civilization. It is what keeps the beliefs, philosophies, and activities of societies alive, to be passed down from generation to generation. However not all traditions are practiced with pure intentions.  Some activities become so routine, people don’t know a life outside of them. Societies become so accustomed to “tradition” that they will participate in pastimes without  questioning the ethics or morals of the situation. Ultimately when tradition takes the place of a rationalizing mind the outcome can be incredibly dangerous. The role of tradition is an underlying theme in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, forcing readers to ask themselves “At what point do

The lottery the setting is in a small town. Every year a lottery is held in the village. The villagers would gather early morning on a clear and bright day June 27th for this town lottery. One person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. The lottery is symbolic story. Every event that occurs in the lottery represents a meaning. The symbolic ritual tradition of the lottery happens every year, an unquestioned culture event. The lottery is ongoing in the village because no one critically addresses the information or to question the tradition. In the story Shirley Jackson uses names and objects to reveal the true meanings about lottery.