Stereotypes And Symbols In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” has a lack of dominant female characters that shows women are often seen as inferior to men in social groups, an example of this is seem in the assembly before the stoning. Various literary devices are used to illustrate this point, including interesting plot developments, a universal theme, and clever uses of symbols. These devices help the reader clarify how women and their roles are portrayed in the story as well as creating a form of social criticism from the interpretation of Jackson’s tone. Also, the use of stereotypes, the village’s patriarchal society, and the aggressiveness of the men shed light on how women are portrayed, how conflicts between men and women are resolved, and how traditional ideas concerning these relationships are challenged.

This intriguing story has a simple premise. At the start, the town is preparing for its annual lottery, which is an old, mysterious tradition, so old that the townspeople don’t seem to remember its original purpose, or even the traditional way to carry out the lottery. The townspeople draw papers from an ancient black box in

The lottery stands for the traditional enforcement of the “women are inferior” stereotype that has become a staple of modern society, at least during Jackson’s life. Through Mrs. Hutchinson, we see a woman who represents the struggle that women endure in order to “beat the odds,” so to speak, and overcome the oppressiveness and aggressiveness of men. The men in the story obviously represent the hurdles that women must clear in order to be free of this oppression. As was mentioned earlier, the stones that the villagers throw are the “most ancient of sacrificial weapons” (Nebeker). The stones, as well as the forgotten details of the lottery itself, mean that these strangleholds on women’s rights are ancient and a newer, progressive ideal should begin to take