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Themes of the lottery by Shirley Jackson
What is the theme in “the lottery” by shirley jackson
Themes of the lottery by Shirley Jackson
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Tradition is something we all hold dear to ourselves, although; all it can do is get in the way of the regular life. In the short story “The Lottery”, a small town holds a drawing every year to decide who gets a brutally executed. This year it turned out to be a whiny, stuck up women named Tessie Hutchinson. Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery”, demonstrates the theme of blindly following tradition isn’t always the right way to live your life through the use of multiple symbols.
The black box provides the first symbol used to prove the theme that blindly following tradition isn’t the right way to live your life.The black box in itself can symbolize how the village has been living and how they can fix the village. “There was a story
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that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it…” (1). The many pieces put into the black box from the old, original box symbolizes how the town was most likely also made from the many broken pieces of an older society. In this case, a more disturbing and horrific society. In another instance, Shirley Jackson described the town by using the black box’s characteristics. “The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained” (1). The black box can be traced directly back to what the towns characteristics are too. The town is growing more and more like the original village that preceded it and is going to fade with the box if they don't eventually change their ways. Blinding following a tradition that seems to have no meaning is preventing the town from achieving its full potential. In some cases, the town was willing to change certain things in the lottery. For example, they changed from wood chips to slips of paper, but they didn't stray away from using stones to kill the chosen one. Using the stones instead of switching to something more convenient helps symbolize how much the village wants to keep the original tradition. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (6). Even though switching away from stones would be easier, they are persistent on keeping the old tradition. On the other hand, the story describes how the first lotteries used wood chips instead of the modern slips of paper. The village changed this part of the tradition into slips of paper to make it more convenient for them. “Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations” (2). Changing parts of the tradition like this symbolizes that change can happen if it wanted to. Blindly changing and following a tradition as delicate as this one can be a dangerous thing. The three-legged stool used to support the broken down black box and all the papers inside can symbolize many things.
The stool supports the box almost exactly how the villagers support the old tradition of the lottery. They would keep their space away from the center where the stool stood. “The postmaster, Mr. Graves, followed him, carrying a three-legged stool, and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it” (1). The people are hesitant but without the support of the people the lottery would never work. Without the stool it would be a lot harder to run the lottery just like it would be just as hard without the people's consent. The stool helps symbolize how the villagers actually feel about the lottery. When the stool is set down everyone backs up and makes a big circle around it. “ The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool” (1). When the stool enters the area and is set down it almost seems like everyone is scared of the power it holds. This holds true for in the story and the symbols it stands for. The symbol we see with the stool shows how the people are in both fear of doing the lottery and the fear of stopping the tradition that has run for
generations. The short story, “The Lottery”, proves a point that following old traditions can be more harmful than helpful, and the author uses symbolism to prove this point. Following old traditions might make you feel like you are doing right by your ancestors, but if blindly following traditions will do this to a village, turning them into savage type people, then what is the point of having those old traditions when they don’t make any sense.
The black box represents virtually the only part of the original ritual that has been preserved since the lottery began. It is there not only to hold the papers that will be drawn, but also to represent to the townsfolk the tradition. The black box is constructed of pieces of the original box, a link to the time when the purpose of the lottery was clear. Most of the old custom has been forgotten: wood chips have been replaced with paper slips, and on one can remember the recital and ritual salute that had previously been part of the lottery; but the o...
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
In fact, the black box and the three-legged stool go hand in hand. They represent the danger of blindly following traditions no matter what the cost. It is also made apparent that the villagers of this town do not know the origin of the lottery, but they still continue to follow the tradition (Nebeker, 171-173). The villagers keep their distance from the box in order to secure their fate. The reason the three-legged stool and the black box go hand in hand is because the box sits on the three-legged stool for support. Together, this represents the manipulation of religion to support collective violence (Nebeker, 171-173). This representation in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", adds a cult-like theme to the story. Helen Nebeker argues that the cult theme is apparent and represented in the three legs of the stool which depicts the Holy Trinity in Christianity, God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It can also mean that the lottery will always follow the tradition of the villagers because the three legs on the stool also mean the past, the present and the future. The correlation between the two is ironic because the Christian Trinity represents holiness and purity, while the black box represents evil, death and
In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, tradition is seen as very high and something to be respected not to be messed with. Although, the lottery has been removed from other towns, the village where the story is set in still continues to participate in the lottery. It is almost as if the other towns realized the lack of humanity in the tradition. However, the village still continues with the lottery even though the majority of the ritual has been lost or changed. The oldest man in the village complains about how the lottery is not what it used to be. There are hidden messages in “The Lottery” that reflects today’s society that the author wants to make apparent and change, such as, the danger of blindly following without any knowledge, the randomness
The fascinating story of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson has symbolism throughout the text that reveals how every man is for himself and how society as a whole is flawed. Although individual characters in the story seem to aspire to want to change the tradition in their society, they very quickly go back to their human instincts of survival of the fittest. Interesting enough, the black box symbolizes the tight tradition the society follows even though it is not the original box, “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago…” (52). The black box is a powerful symbol that showcases how humans are instinctive to hold on to only what they know even if they don’t know why they are doing it, “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” (52). Another instinctive symbolism in “The Lottery” are the stones.
In “The Lottery” the most significant symbol is the tethered black box. The black box had been around for years even for the lotteries before Old Man Warner. It had become shabby and torn and some townspeople believed that it would make more sense to use a newer box while others believed that it needed to stay the same in fear that it would be detrimental for the traditional values they believed in. Mr. Summers, the official of the lottery, had suggested the box be changed several times but not one person seemed to entertain the idea in fear that it would disrupt tradition. (5) The color of the box also represents symbolism. Typically, when someone thinks about the color black they associate that with fear and death and not with something positive. It is very ironic that in the beginning of the story everything was bright and sunny but towards the end the tone become much darker adding to the tone of the
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role in how they go about their everyday lives. In Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," the citizens of a small farming town follow one such tradition. A point is made regarding human nature in relation to tradition. The story begins on a beautiful summer afternoon.
The lottery consists of a black box full of blanks pieces of paper and one marked piece of paper. The person who draws the marked piece of paper is the one who endures the horrible fate of being stoned. This black box is very significant because it an s symbol of tradition. Just like tradition, it has been used for many years. Because it symbol in this story is the black box, which is used in the lottery process. . The box is a symbol of tradition and just like tradition; it has been used for many years. “ There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village.” It is old and needs to be replaced with a new one but none ...
Throughout history, obedience has played a crucial and important role in countless numbers of peoples’ lives. Obedience is practiced and learned by everyone. As we can observe from Milgram’s studies, it doesn’t take only poor, uneducated people to be blindly obedient. Educated people can be just as prone to become obedient to authority as uneducated individuals. In, “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, there is evidence that suggests a phenomena between being blindly obedient and respecting tradition. Many aspects of the experiment can be used as evidence in “The Lottery”. In “The Lottery”, people can be easily obedient to an authoritative figure.
Symbolism is used heavily in “The Lottery”. One of the first symbols revealed in the short story is the Black Box, used by the townspeople as the raffle box. “The black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner . . .was born. 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” (Jackson). The Black Box stands as a symbol for the lottery itself and tradition of all types. Although it may be difficult to “upset” or change parts of traditions that have been practiced for ages, it is necessary to do so to grow as people. “Another symbol in the story is the black box. Although it is old and shabby, the villagers are unwilling or unable to replace it, just as they are unwilling to stop participating in the lottery” (Wilson). The...
Thesis: After a long period of time passes people forget the true meaning of their traditions by slowly disregarding as the years pass.
The black on the box itself is a universal symbol that represents death. The black box also represents a platform of life or death for each individual townsperson at the lottery and holds the tragic and evil acts of murder that has been practiced in the past and the future ones. According to James M. Gibson’s, “An Old Testament Analogue for “The Lottery”", the three-legged stool represents the Christian Trinity that consists of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The three-legged stool holds the box that represents death and has the fate of every individual that lives in the town inside of it. According to Kurt J. Fickert’s, “Dürrenmatt’s “The Visit” and Job, The Lottery the Christian Trinity has a significant meaning to the story because they manipulate the religion to support the murdering of an innocent civilian, making it a normality to stone someone to death for religious
The Lottery takes place on a clear, sunny, June day. It does not take long for the skies to turn gray as she introduces the readers to the black box. The black box is the central symbol of the short story. It suggests both death and necessity of change due to a combination of the passage of time and population expansion.
Even through the times, traditions have remained a constant for the human race. They can be as gruesome as the Aztecs practicing human sacrifice to as simple as saying the pledge of allegiance every day. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a chilling story about the reoccurrence of an abhorrent ritual that takes place on a sunny morning. The people of this village demonstrate fear over straying from conformity and thus have the ignorance that sprouts from never trying new things. Through this short story the author portrays this fear and ignorance the human race has through her casual narration, euphemistic dialogue and morbid events.
The first piece of symbolism that is revealed is the black box, it represents the villagers devotion to their traditional ritual. For the audience to truly understand what is the tradition, it must come occur in order for the audience to understand, which leads to the next piece of symbolism, Old Man Warner symbolizes tradition. He embodies tradition because he's been involved in it longer than the other villagers, he is fully devoted, committed to the ritual and, defends the ritual. To begin leading the crowd towards curiosity about what the ‘prize’ would be, although it gives the audience thoughts that the ‘prize’ isn’t actually a prize. This is extracted from when Tessie makes Mr. Summers redo the ritual because she thought he had rushed her husband into picking a paper, and is reluctant to taking a slip out of the box.