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The Lottery Symbolism Essay

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The Lottery

Set in a peaceful and idyllic village, the story explores the long-standing practice of conducting a lottery, which is believed to have originated as a form of sacrifice or religious ritual. However, as time has passed, the villagers have lost sight of the morality behind the tradition and continue to participate without questioning its purpose or consequences. The story begins in an innocent atmosphere, but as the narrative unfolds, the mood shifts, leaving the reader with a sense of unease and horror. This essay aims to examine how Jackson uses symbolism and characterization to illustrate the destructive nature of blindly following immoral traditions. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson brings light to how unquestionably following …show more content…

One of the most powerful symbols employed in the story is the black box, slips of paper, and stones used in the lottery. These objects symbolize tradition, randomness, fairness, and violence, respectively. The black box, in particular, symbolizes tradition and is described as being made of "splintered wood" and "faded black paint" (Jackson, para. 5). This imagery gives the impression that the box is old and well-worn, emphasizing the idea that the lottery is a tradition that has been passed down through generations. A quote in the story that reinforces this symbolism is "The black box grew shabbier each year" (Jackson, para. 5), which highlights how the black box, as a symbol of tradition, is in a state of decline and neglect, suggesting that the tradition of the lottery is also in decline and should be critically …show more content…

Her initial excitement at being chosen as the lottery's winner is quickly replaced with shock and horror as the reality of the tradition sinks in. Her exclamation of "It isn't fair, it isn’t right" (Jackson, para. 79) underscores the dangers of blindly following tradition without questioning its morality. Her tragic fate, as she is stoned to death by her fellow villagers, serves as a stark reminder that adhering to tradition, even when morally reprehensible, can lead to devastating

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The short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson takes place in a small American town. A yearly tradition of this town is holding a lottery, in which one person is chosen at random to be stoned to death by the other citizens of the town. Even though neighboring town begin to question this tradition, no one from this town does. Jackson illustrates the theme of blindly following traditions could be harmful in “The lottery by using conflict of man vs. society.

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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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Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a presumably cheerful story but leads to a grotesque, unpredictable, and twisted ending. The main focus, with in “The Lottery”, is primarily about the sadistic ritual in which the townspeople of an agricultural town murder one of their fellow citizens in a raffle styled lottery. One may ask why this type of system is held in order to decide what person will be executed and then ask whether or not it is fair to the unfortunate winner of the lottery. Mrs. Hutchinson even called out the lottery system, after her family was chosen for the next pick, yelling “It wasn’t fair!” (Jackson 45).

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It can be argued that no one seems to want to discontinue the long lived tradition they call “The Lottery” by how our main character’s respond. One can come to conclude that the overall idea of the story is how the residents become blind to what’s right and wrong simply because of the sake of tradition. The writer shows us how a tradition in which most would find incorrect, can become correct to those whom have practiced it all their life. Throughout history we can see how traditions has become an important role in how we live and reason today. When one thinks about the word “lottery” one would usually connect it to good things such as winnings or money, but in this lottery, the winner will be brutally murdered in a primitive ritual of stoning.

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“The Lottery,” a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a woman who has been selected for sacrifice by a lottery drawing. Tessie Hutchinson, and the rest of her town, are unfeeling about how the annual sacrifice affects the selected. However, they carry on with their tradition year after year, with no intent to make changes to meet modern day morals and needs. “The Lottery” is about blindly following tradition, the awareness of how cruel a practice sacrificing is, and how one’s mindset can change when they are the chosen one. (1) When one blindly follows tradition, they become unmindful.

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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.

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At a time when basic religious beliefs and traditions were being questioned by academia, author Shirley Jackson penned a poignant attack against those who blindly accepted values and traditions in her short story, “The Lottery.” The Lottery is presented as an event that has always occurred throughout the region's history without any opposition. Nonchalantly, the entire village commits homicide at the finale. Finally, aspects of the traditional lottery evolved without notice or were forgotten by the villagers. Within “The Lottery,” author Shirley Jackson embeds the theme of blindly accepting traditions as illustrated by the actions of the villagers.

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This indicates that the tradition has been going on for so long, the people that grow up with this find it normal to be done. The old man who criticized the other towns that grew tired of the Lottery has been used to seeing the Lottery around for so long and had actually supported the reason behind it. Next to the rocks in symbolism was the stool as well as the black box. The black box which was used to draw the pieces of paper symbolizes the key between life and death.

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