Symbolism In The Lottery

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 black box is not only Alliteration, but it is also a symbol in “The Lottery”. Martine Ma declares, “The black box holds the key between life or death for every single one of the townspeople”. Inside the black box is a “slip of paper” (Jackson1870) with “a black spot” (Jackson1870) that would declare the death of a villager and the sacrifice for the harvest. The black box also represents ‘evil’ in “The Lottery”. Seth Cassel stated, “The villagers have become entranced in the gruesome tradition of stoning people.” Proving that the black box has manipulated the townspeople into killing their fellow villagers because of the lottery the black box

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

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

This literary device not only helps with the analysis of other elements of fiction, but gives a sense of what the atmosphere of the story can be interpreted as. An example of imagery within the story includes the description of the box that holds the villager’s names during the lottery. “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 colour, and in some places faded or stained” (2). From this, the reader can determine how long the lottery has been going on in the community, as the passage describes that the box has been used each year; making it a carefully executed tradition. Another example of this literary device includes the description of the atmosphere on the day of the lottery. “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” (1). The description of the weather is described very carefully, making the reader believe that since the sun is shining, everyone is happy, which also helps with the analysis of irony. Through the use of imagery, the author helps describe the surroundings of the village, in addition to the other literary devices presented throughout the

there will be a death later on in the story. Another character we are introduced to is Adams.

In the short story, "The Lottery", written by Shirley Jackson, symbols enhance the story. This short story is packed with symbols. However, the symbols are not explained in the story. So, the reader has an opportunity to unfold the meaning behind each and every one.

In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, all the symbols in the story points toward one direction of the true human nature. Throughout the story, there are also many examples of Irony, such as the names of the characters. Although the society in the lottery is far from the society today, It can relate to “Allegory of the Cave”. “Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore,” (p.219)The characters in these two short story believed in totally different things but they both still choose to believe without any good reason. Symbolism plays a big part in the story. There are many examples in the story of symbolism including the title, events, and name of characters.

The short story The lottery was written by Shirley Jackson. The Lottery was a tradition the village will follow every year. The lottery is usually a drawing of names from the villagers in the village. Every villager will have to retrieve a paper from the black box. If the villager receives the paper with the black dot in the center has to be stoned to death. In The Lottery Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to illustrate the theme of blindly following tradition and random persecution which in turn help enhance the action of the plot.

The types of symbols that are used in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are literary symbols, such as the black box, which is mainly the central theme of the story since it symbolizes life or death for each individual in the town, but when we read the ending we find out truly the date of the lottery, location, and symbolic or ironic names of its characters all work together to convey a meaning that is even more disturbing than the ending (Yarmove). The box is a literary symbol because it represents the characters refusal to change, the box is old and splintered showing how they adhere to something that is familiar preferably than change and symbolizes the traditions of the town (Yarmove). Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers

The lottery itself is a symbol. It illustrates the cruel and unspoken of traditions that occur in our society, which are carried out daily without knowing why. The villagers still carry on with the tradition, even though the ceremony results in the loss of a neighbor and friend. "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions..." The black box they use represents the tradition of the lottery. No one members the original, so they one they use is a replacement. "The original paraphenilia for the lottery has been lost long ago... tradition as was represented by the

First, the black box represents the lost tradition of the lottery among the people in the village. When describing the box, Jackson mentions it “gr[ows] shabbier each year; by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly… in some places faded or stained” (128). The box, painted black to represent death, holds the “ticket” to the grave. Black paint overshadows the dying tradition of the lottery. The people lose “so much of the ritual [, that it has] been forgotten” (128). As long as the people view the lottery this way, they will continue to fall under the “spell” of the black box. The

He believes by retiring the tradition that "They'll be wanting to go back to living in caves" (254). According to Mr. Warner, the lottery is the only thing keeping society stable. As a man of superstition he thinks that a human sacrifice is the only logical answer for insuring that their crops are good, seen in the line "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (254). Mr. Warner accepts the way things are because this is the way they have always been. Changing tradition would be disastrous in his eyes. The other main symbol in "The Lottery" is the black box. Unlike old man Warner, the black box represents the absence of tradition. This is because the box itself has not been passed down, rather it has only been the ideas and rituals that were passed through generations. Only pieces of the original box remain. In the beginning of the lottery the villagers used wood chips instead of paper. Over the years the small details of the lottery have been lost and all that remains is the true intention of it. The villagers are blindly following a ritual that has lost most of the tradition, and only holding lotteries simply because there has always been one.

Shirley Jackson was an American writer. She wrote many books but, “The Lottery,” published on June 26, 1948, received an extensive amount of attention by readers. “The Lottery” was the first short story that Jackson wrote. This story was about a small town where there is a tradition of the lottery. The lottery has been happening for over seventy-seven years and is practiced by every member of the town; It declared who would be stoned to death that year. Jackson, the author, makes it seem as if the lottery was about winning money. Who would have known that the plot of the story was to stone someone? Although the thought of the lottery was not what it seemed, most of the people and objects used in this story symbolized different meanings.