Shirley Jackson's The Lottery: The Unalterable Human Condition

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The Lottery: The Unalterable Human Condition
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a story of an unusual town caught in whirlwind of tradition, even when it is not in the best interest of the residents and society. Shirley Jackson uses symbols throughout the story that helps the reader clearly understand her purpose. By doing so, she creates significant connections to the theme using old man Warner and the people in this ghost town of tradition.
At the beginning of “The Lottery”, Jackson is very specific in describing the setting of her story; she says, "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day" (250). The imagery of this sentence alludes to a fresh start or a welcoming environment, this misconception is used to give the reader a sense of normality, which later is discovered to be an end rather than a beginning due to the lottery’s essential meaning, the stoning of an innocent.
There is something very secretive and bizarre about this town that leaves the reader with many questions about why it is the way it is, and how it got to be like this. Old man Warner relates to this, as he is the …show more content…

Summers, another crucial character in Jackson’s story represents the growing of life or the season of life. His name alludes to the old pagan fertility ritual by showing the sacrifice made in order to blossom a new day. This idea, according to Old Man Warner, was what the lottery was all about. Mr. Summers showed effort to slowly wean the old tradition, the old harshness, out of the ordeal. He had the wooden chips replaced with more convenient slips of paper. He also “spoke frequently...about making a new box” (75), so, therefore, he also represented new ideas as well as old. Mr. Summers would have more than likely accepted and backed the motion to cease the lottery and stop the sacrifice. Mr. Summers serves as a representation for a bystander whose efforts to change tradition were taken but only with a grain of

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