A Tradition that Blinds
“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” Recently, I read The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. This story was about a town that had a tradition of holding a lottery, and then stoning to death the person chosen. The theme of this story was that people follow their tradition blindly, not ever questioning what is right or wrong. As the quote above shows, morals are something that should always be stood up for no matter what others are doing. The author develops this theme by using point of view, a conflict, and symbolism.
By using point of view, the author helped develop the theme- that people follow their tradition blindly. The Lottery is told in third person objective, meaning the narrator of the story has no insight into any of the characters’ thoughts or feelings. This contributed to the theme because it symbolizes the characters’ lack of thoughts while following their tradition. On page 7 it says, “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the
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The first symbol that Shirley Jackson uses is the concept is the black box. In the beginning of the story (on page 2), the black box was depicted as, “No longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.” This description gives the reader an image of a very old, worn, and tattered box. This is symbolic of the tradition itself. Much like the box, the Lottery is a worn out tradition. “ ‘Some places have already quit lotteries,” Mrs. Adams said,’ ” Showing that many of the other towns had already quit lotteries, this quote proves that the lottery is far too old of a tradition to keep up. After analyzing the text, it is clear to me that the concept of symbolism helps demonstrate the
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...
Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
The author does not have much time to make a point like in a novel, so they must implore the use of symbols. There are several symbols in “The Lottery.” The first example is in the characters of the story. The names and personalities that Jackson chose for these specific characters have more to them than what meets the eye. Mr. Summers, “a round-faced, jovial man,” is the face of the lottery (Jackson 260). He is cheerful and takes the actions he must organize rather lightly, considering he is organizing the death of a neighbor. His assistant, Mr. Graves, is quiet and stands to the side. Readers can quickly see the contrast in names and actions that Jackson is trying to portray. In “Jackson’s ‘The Lottery,’” Amy Griffin describes the symbolism on a deeper level. She
There is no question what so ever that Jackson inserted a manifold of symbols in order to have a more profound impact on the story’s ending. Symbolism is an object, word, or idea that has a deeper meaning than how it is put into use. It serves as an iconic representation of something more emotional. Using symbolism lets the author plant a seed in the reader’s mind in which triggers a more profound reaction once the true meaning behind the symbol are revealed. In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson there are a manifold of symbolic references that are used. It seems as Jackson wants us to question whether or not every tradition are done with good morality. As shown through this short story, many of the townspeople have a belief that their tradition is an act that would be approved by
box. We do not always enjoy change, even if it might prove beneficial to us.
Blindly following a person, tradition, or an ideology is illogical and prevents progression of individuals and their surrounding society. In Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story, “The Lottery”, all the members of a small town gather together per annum to randomly choose a human sacrifice in hopes of a plentiful harvest. After the drawings are completed, it is determined that Tessie Hutchinson drew the paper with a black spot. The townspeople grabbed rocks from a pile that was gathered by the children earlier and stoned her to death. Jackson uses symbolism, imagery, and patriarchal leadership to bring the reader to a sunny, but dark world where a community murders a member of their society without hesitation to satisfy a deep-rooted tradition.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a haunting tale about a peaceful village with a dark secret. Every man, woman, and child must enter the lottery to win the prize. However, the reward is being stoned to death. The poor victim of the lottery is Tessie Hutchinson. Jackson purposely misled the readers for most of the story. Only towards the end is when she reveals the horrifying truth. A repeating major theme in this work is manipulation through tradition. This theme can be seen using several examples of imagery.
Jackson uses the lottery itself to function as an ironic symbol of tradition in the story. In today’s society, a lottery is an event that has positive connotations related to it. A lottery a game that is associated with fun, chance, fun, and expectation. Good things usually result from lotteries especially for those who win. Furthermore, those who don’t win have nothing to lose. Lotteries bring forth a feeling of great expectation of a wonderful outcome. Through out the story, the lottery is projected as a harmless and affable pastime, which is how it is used in today’s society; however, by the end of the story it ends with disaster.
One can see by examining the imagery of a beautiful sunny day, and the symbolism of young and innocent children in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, that this story is not an archetypal horror story. Firstly, one can see that the imagery that is explained in the narrative, describes a sunny and peaceful afternoon, which is ironic because of the stories dark and tragic ending. The first sentence of the story describes the setting in which the lottery takes place, as a peaceful and uneventful morning, rather than a gloomy and secluded site, which is considered a cliché of a classical horror story. To give the story an ironic twist of imagery, Jackson wrote; “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were
Shirley Jackson wrote the story “The Lottery”, this story starts in a little village were only about three hundred people lived. It was a clear summer day, June 27th. The readers could think about this story as a happily ending story. Everyone thinks the word lottery is happiness and luckiness. In this case, the word lottery has a different meaning at the end of the story. What happens at the end of the story only happens in modern day movies or TV shows. While reading the story, the readers could find important symbols of the story. Some of those symbols might mean something else rather than what the readers might think it really means. There were five symbols that have an important role in Jackson’s story, those being the black box, the stones, the black spot, the stool, and the names Graves, Warner and Summers.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about an annual lottery draw in a small town. The story sets place in a small town in New England. Every year a lottery is held, in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. The lottery has been practiced for over seventy years by the townspeople. By using symbolism, Jackson uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the lottery.
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" symbols are used to enhance and stress the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can be exhibited in people in situations regarding tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just for the sake of keeping a routine. Three of the main symbols that Shirley uses in the story is the setting, black box, and the actual characters names. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the basis of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the culture of the village, and the culture of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage to not only a community, but the entire world. Symbolism plays a large role in "The Lottery" to set the theme of the story and make the reader question traditions.
The characters in a short story are vital to understanding everything that the author has put into her work. Most of Shirley Jackson’s characters in “The Lottery” adapt as the story goes on, revealing their true opinions and behaviors. Her characters are also true to life, which establishes realism in her stories. Tess, Old Man Warner, and the women of this story all provide outlooks and opinions that shape “The Lottery” into the constructive story it is.
The title of the story plays a role in how Shirley Jackson used some literary elements to help mask the evils and develop the story. The title “The Lottery” serves as an allegory. When people think of the lottery majority of people associate it with something good like the New York State Lottery where you can win some money. In the story it is used as a way to pick someone to be killed. In the story everyone gathers in the town square and the town’s people draw family names until a black dot is one the slip of paper. Which
In conclusion, Shirley Jackson used many literary devices throughout the entire story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, irony, and imagery to appeal to readers that read this story. Other literary devices such as characterization were identified in this story but the three that were elaborated on were the ones that stood out. The emphasis on religious traditions and symbols make “The Lottery” one the darkest and most mysterious