Analysis of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

According to Anais Nin, a prominent Spanish author, "When we blindly adopt a religion, a political system, a literary dogma, we become automatons. We cease to grow. " Shirley Jackson was born in 1919 in San Francisco, California to Leslie and Geraldine Jackson. She is most well known for her short story titled “The Lottery” which was first published in The New Yorker to overwhelming and mixed reviews. The lottery, as portrayed in the short story, is a religious, annual ceremony in the afternoon of June 27. This event is said to be older than Old Man Warner and has lost most of its meaning. Every year, a “lucky” winner is blindly chosen with the use of a magical, black box to be stoned to death with the hopes it will produce rain for their crops. Therefore, Shirley Jackson develops her theme that people blindly follow traditions even if imorally wrong in her short story, “The Lottery”, through the use of irony, symbolism, and allusion.

Shirley Jackson develops her theme that people blindly follow traditions even if morally wrong in her short story, “The Lottery”, through the use of irony. The lottery is said to be conducted by Mr. Summers, the same person that conducts the Halloween program and the square dances. The ceremony ends quickly so the citizens can be done in time for lunch. “That was done pretty fast, and now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time” (Jackson). This exemplifies Mr. Summers’ eagerness to finish quickly so he and the other citizens do not miss their afternoon meal. “The ‘lottery’ is conducted at ten in the morning so that the villagers could get home for lunch and it is "conducted" by Mr. Summers, who has the time and energy to devote to "civic activities" (Timko). Mr. Timko is explainin...

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...ns, villagers would sacrifice people in public to ask for rain from the gods. Similar tactics were used by the Romans through the use of public executions of prisoners in the Roman Coliseum. “It has been almost two thousand years since the Christians were sacrificed to the lions in Rome; but some cultures still believe that sacrifices made to the gods will provide them with healthy crops” (Hicks). Mr. Hicks therefore defends the argument that the lottery was a direct allusion to ancient sacrifices.

In conclusion, n The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson, the author uses allusion, symbolism, and irony to convey the theme. The theme of the short story, therefore, is that people will continue to blindly follow traditions even if it is morally wrong. We are citizens of our planet and we turn against our neighbors, we will only cause chaos and destruction in the process.