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Essay On Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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The Symbolism of The Lottery One big symbol that the short story is discreet about is the black box that is repeated throughout the short story symbolizes fear to adults which could affect even the most innocent. The black box appears to be the only paraphernalia that is still being used in the tradition of having a lottery. Mr. Summers is the one who is running the lottery at the time. Mr. Summers is seen as a nice man, however, when he is introduced, he is seen with the black box. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses the black box as a symbol to convey an underlying message that when the power of a tradition is given to a person, it could lead a crumbling society. When the power of a tradition is given to a person, it could lead to a crumbling society. For example, in the lottery, Shirley Jackson writes “The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr.Summers asked… ‘give me a hand?’ there was hesitation.” This reveals that despite Mr. Summers being portrayed as a “round-faced, jovial man”, he brings fear and hesitation by just being seen with the black box. Mr. Summers is known for bringing joy when conducting fun activities like square dances, teenage club, and the Halloween program, however, when …show more content…

For example, after Tessi is shown with the black dot, Mr. Summers says “All right folks,... Let's finish quickly.” This shows that Mr.Summers’ mind is crumbling after being the one who is controlling the black box, did not hesitate when telling others to stone Tessi. The others were not hesitant to go and stone her if anything they gave a rock to her own son. The black box and the tradition of the lottery have caused crumbling minds. To them, it is just a yearly activity that they are hesitant to question despite the fact that it puts everyone’s life on the

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Within this source it has a list of sub headings that cover symbolic meaning of the lottery, the lottery box, stoning and considering the authors background. The sub heading about the author Shirley Jackson provides me with some very crucial information around the long standing traditions of what the whole story really meant and the back ground of the author when she wrote this short story. Ironically Shirley Jackson was a women during the 1948 period in America. Which began to part the puzzle for me on the ideologies used in the story that contrasted America at that present time. For e.g. whether it was segregation, the lack of free voting rights or any of the many other traditions which still exist primarily because they have always existed.

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Summers declared the lottery open. There were lists to make up- of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family.” If there really is so much fussing to be done for the lottery to be declared open in the first place, a logical reason is that it is a tradition. To further the point, the text says, “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box (p. 16, lines 74-77).” This goes back to the point that the town doesn’t want to upset the tradition because they don’t even want to get rid of the black box.

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The Lottery Template Topic Sentence: One can see by examining the symbolism of the worn out black box, and the foreshadowing of the children putting rocks in their pockets in the The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, that this story is a classic archetypal horror story. Argument: Firstly, one can see that when Mr. Summers arrived at the square carrying a black wooden box, he asked the villagers if anyone would give him a hand with putting the box on the three- legged stool, however, many hesitated to come near the black box, a symbolic twist that foreshadows the imminent ending. The black box has been used for generations, even before the oldest villager. It has been said that the current box was made from the pieces of the

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In “The Lottery” Jackson uses a black box to symbolize death, Jackson says “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been long lost ago,and the black box now had been resting on the stool. It had been there even before old man Warner”(Jackson 1).This shows symbolism because it shows how old the black box really is. The reader of “The Lottery” can tell that author is using symbolism. In the beginning, Shirley Jackson says “the original paraphernalia had been long lost ago”.(Jackson 1). Jackson also says “They always had spoke of making a new box but no one ever wanted to.

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Jackson gives an impression that the shabby, black box is a personal and constant reminder to the people so that they must remain faithful to the tradition of their forefathers and never ponder on the notion that those customs might be wrong or immoral. In addition, the villagers’ behavior towards the box embodies their assessment on the entire system of the lottery. They seem to be frightened by the lottery and the box, but they are even more petrified to alter or doubt one or the other. Pressures, traditions and longstanding beliefs may potentially guide that society to an extensive ignorance and sanctioned malevolence that is directly strengthened by

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“The Lottery” is an realism/horror story written by Shirley Jackson. The story is about some villagers of a small New England town who follow the tradition of making a lottery every year. When it comes, they like to celebrate it with the correct rules and the correct objects so they can feel more comfortable. Everyone need to take a slip of paper from a small black box, and the paper with a black dot in it means that the family is the winner, then they raffle again; Bill Hutchinson, who was the husband of the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson picked a paper with a black dot in it, that meant that Tessie was the winner of the lottery, then she starts complaining because the drawing was not conducted properly. At the end, the townspeople moved off to a cleared spot outside the town and they begin stoning her to death (Jackson).

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“The Lottery" is a verdict of depraved tradition of a community. The story surrounds a town where the lottery is drawn every year as a sacrifice ritual one 's life for a good fertile crop. The lottery rose up public opinions when it first published in 1948. It is a piece of Shirley Jackson in which she wrote about inhumanity and violence among human based on her real experience when she moved to a small town and was rejected by its people. Shirley Jackson always believed in sinful spirit within each individual self as her writing style portrayed the vicious side of her and people 's souls, “The dark current of awareness of evil that runs through her life and work seems too strong to have as its sole root the observance of suburban hypocrisy” (Judy Oppenhaimer).

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Most traditions and celebrations are meant to be jubilant and joyous, yet “The Lottery” shows another way to interpret it and confuses the readers with the title. “It had spent one year in Mr. Graves’s barn and another year underfoot in the post office and sometimes it was set on a shelf in the martin Grocery and left there” (6). This quote represents the tradition that the small town has been holding onto for many years. Like the lottery itself, the black box has no functionality except for two hours every June. As time passes, the purpose of the box is cloudy and confusing.

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The Lottery itself represents a primal example of loss of innocence; portrayed through the young boys who gather at the town square to collect rocks for the horrors soon to follow. An illustration of how traditions can lose their true meanings and come to represent violence and warfare. Furthermore, “The Lottery” also represents the decaying characteristics of traditions, as symbolized by the town’s black box, in this case where every year, someone’s name is drawn out of the black box and they are stoned to death, by other members who may or may not end up to be family. Nonetheless, it ends up to be the villagers who

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When the twelve year old Nancy “[goes] forward switching her skirt, [taking] a slip daintily from the box,” the audience is struck by her innocence, making the subsequent death of her mother via the lottery outcome even more terrible and tragic. A still more effective example of Jackson’s appeals to pathos occurs at the end of the story, where “someone [gives] little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” to join the crowd in stoning his mother. This moment is incredibly poignant and elevates the disgust and pity that the audience feels as the nature of the lottery is revealed. Little Davy is too young understand what is happening, and it is reasonable to assume that the rest of the characters have long since lost touch with the purpose of the lottery, as the only explanation the audience is given for its continuation is Warner’s statement that “there’s always been a lottery.” This remarkably insufficient excuse in support of such a heinous crime secures the sympathy of the audience towards not only Tessie’s plight but also Jackson’s argument.

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In her story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson implies the negative consequences of blindly following tradition through the acceptance, by the villagers, of the tradition of the lottery. Jackson suggests that the people of the village are afraid to give up the little tradition they have, even if it is not good. Every year after the lottery, the conductor of the lottery, Mr. Summers suggests that they should build a new box but, “No one [likes] to upset even as much tradition as [is] represented by the box.” (Jackson, 1). The black box symbolizes ritual and tradition.

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After completing this immoral act, people went back to their normal routine, showing no remorse. One feature of the story that shows a violent nature is when children gathered stones, while women gossiped, and men discussed farming. Everyone wanted to finish the ritual early, to get home in time for dinner. The people of the town gathered in the square, waiting for Mr. Summers to begin. The black box is placed, and each family member are required to participate.

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Symbols such as the black box meaning the towns loyalty to the lottery ritual, to the lottery ritual itself representing tradition, the short story is brimming with hidden elements that are bursting out of the seams of what is Shirley Jacksons' famous short

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The main symbols displayed in the lottery are the rocks, the black box, as well as the stool. The rocks symbolize the method of death. Stoning was a common way of killing people who had to pay a price of some sort. However, they would want to make the experience painful and drawn-out.

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They do not want to follow the other towns that had given up the lottery. The townspeople are apprehensive of transition because of the unknown factors. One of the examples in the story that shows their lack of willingness to change their customs is the battered black box they use for the lottery. It has been stained and the original color of the wood is shown on the side. Every year, Mr. Summers, who manages the lottery suggests to the villagers to get a new box.

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