Everyone has those family traditions that they follow blindly, but in most cases everyone’s family tradition does not result in a dead family member or friend. In the story ‘The Lottery” a small village town has an annual lottery that they host every year that results in one dead member of their village. They choose their winner by gathering all the towns people’s names into a black box and drawing first a family from the town and then a member from within that family. In the film known as The Hunger Games, the people of Panem also follow the annual tradition of a lottery where the winners die. Although both stories share similar properties such as symbolism, they differ when it comes to the society and protagonists of each one.
The author even mentions that “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.” The society didn't want to change boxes for the sole reason of the tradition. This symbol and many others can point to one theme, that traditions don't make sense unless you stop to think about them. This theme is also shown in Harrison Bergeron when the author write about the symbol of the handicaps and how the weight of the handicaps prevent anyone from thinking about the traditions so they just go along with it. But both stories
How does suspense, imagery, and foreshadowing play roles in stories. Roald Dahl, Richard Connell, and, Shirley Jackson all believe these elements play a very important role in stories. In Connell’s story General Zaroff likes to hunt a more smart game, humans. In The Landlady, Dahl a very old lady lures in young men to her boarding house to do sick deeds. In Jackson’s story The Lottery, the lottery is nothing but a horror show.
The black box in the lottery was symbolic of the tradition of the Lottery itself, as Mr. Summers even “spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box…” because he had to interact with it, unlike the other villagers. So in this, he reflects the villagers thought for change when they personally had to face the reality of winning the Lottery. As even the color of the black box is representative of the murder that occurs if you pull out the slip with the dot. Likewise, stool that upholds the black box is representative of the person that upholds the tradition as the one who is stoned to death.
Another symbol that Shirely Jackson used within the story is the black box which is used to hold the slips of paper that determine whether the villagers will live or die in the end. The black box is a symbol of the villagers' ignorance and fear of what could happen. Jackson also surfaces when Tessie Hutchinson opens her lottery slip to the crowd. The slip then contains a black dot (Jackson 120). Just before the announcement of the lottery winner, Jackson subtly adds a subordinate clause in which we notice the blackness of Mr. Summers’ coal trade was transferred to the black spot on Tessie Hutchinson’s lottery slip.
The short story “The Lottery” written by Shirley Jackson, the plot in the story that it only gives people an account of drawing lots to determine the winner who shall be stoned to death for harvest. However, we get a deep impression of the characters and their fate after reading the story. Jackson indicated a prevalent theme, the indirect of characterization and using symbolism and irony to modify this horror story. The Allegorical story of “ The Lottery” is often regarded as a satire of human behavior and social institutions, and exemplifies some of the central themes of Jackson’s fiction, including the victimization of the individual by society, the tendency of people to be cruel, and the presence of evil in everyday life.
Many characters in the story have different viewpoint on the lottery. Old Man Warner was one of the advocates for this ritual for many reasons. In the book, it says how there has always been a lottery and how after, they would be eating stewed chickweed and acorns, suggesting that he still believes that the ritual would bring good crops and how it has always been a thing so why give it up now. One person that doesn’t like the lottery is Tessie Hutchinson. When she knew her husband got the slip of paper, she said how it was unfair and he didn’t get enough time to pick the piece of paper.
Summers sets down the black box, the uneasy townspeople kept their distance. He prompts for someone to assist him and there is a moment of resistance before Mr. Martin and his oldest don step forward to help (Jackson 255). The black color of the shabby box and the dot on the paper represent the evil that surrounds the activity of the lottery as a whole. The slips of paper are written up the night before the lottery and then locked away in a safe while it is just discarded in random places, such as a barn, the rest of the year (Jackson 255). The people associate the black of both items with death and it causes the tension around the
“The Lottery:” A Tradition Like No Other A tradition is defined as customs or beliefs that are passed down from generation to generation. Almost every person and family have a tradition.
“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).
Literary Elements used in The Lottery By definition the word lottery means a process or thing whose success or outcome is measured by chance (“lottery”). To most people winning the lottery would conjure up excitement and overall good feelings. However, in the short story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson, the lottery has a twisted and horrific meaning.
Traditions have been sought after and passed on for generations; with no questions asked, whether humane or not, traditions are hard to break and diminish as they are often what a culture or community stands for. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, a story about the tradition of a small village, is painted in impeccable details of peace, and serenity on a warm summer day, as everyone follows the tradition they have known since a long time ago despite the true intentions and meaning of it forgotten. The Lottery taking place annually is like no other lottery, it paints the true picture of the horror that epitomizes the tradition that none of the villagers dare to question, despite it creating separation between gender and families and ruining
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.
In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the author has demonstrated each symbol and the meaning that holds behind them. The black box is culturally known as a dark and evil color. It represents the fate of the people in town, and the three-legged stool is used as a support for the black box to lay on top of the object. Stoning is ancient.
The Lottery The short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson proposes an annual lottery drawing in a little village set in New England. However, unlike any usual lottery, the winner is stoned to death by their fellow townsmen, women and children included. The lottery seems to have been a custom around the area for over seventy years.
