Shirley Jackson uses symbolism in her short story, “The Lottery” (1948), to underline that some traditions should be abandoned by providing the readers with specific descriptions of physical manifestations that correlate to the tradition’s existence. Progressing through the story, Jackson mentions the black wooden box along with the three-legged stool in the fourth paragraph, where “the stool was put in the center of the square and […] the black box down on it” (Jackson). As she continues to refer back to the black wooden box on the three-legged stool an abundant amount of times, readers can infer that symbolism revolves around these two articles. Symbolizing the yearly lottery tradition, the black box “was no longer completely black, but splintered