Symbolism and Setting in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

1120 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Into the wild literary analysis

Symbolism and Setting in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

?The Lottery? by Shirley Jackson is a short story that without the symbolism of its characters, would amount to little more than an odd tale about a stoning. However, because

of what each character represents and the way the setting helps to magnify those

representations, it becomes a short story that is anything but short of meaning.

The first character is probably the most obviously

symbolic character of the story. Every word that leaves Old Man Warner?s

Mouth reeks of tradition. He never stops criticizing new ideas about the lottery, the way it is run, or complaining about how things have changed for the worst, etc., etc. When Mr. Adams tells him that the residents of a neighboring village are considering doing away with the lottery, he says they are ?a pack of crazy fools.?

After the Hutchinson family draws for the second time and he can hear people whisper about who they hope drew the spot, he is quick to point out ?It?s not the way it used to be, people aren?t the way they used to be.?

He probably reminds most readers of an older person he or she once knew always saying, ?Well in my day we did things differently?..? and ? What is wrong with kids these days? Why when I was a kid if I did that??.?

He is clinging to tradition, even some that are no longer observed, and totally unwilling to let go of the ones that are still practiced, in spite of how ludicrous they might be. It has always been done that way before so why change things now?

In ?the Lottery,? old Man Warner symbolizes everything that is wrong with tradition and really forces a person to consider some of the ridiculous things that we as members of society have done and or continue...

... middle of paper ...

... a single character in the story who could not be a next-door neighbor, a teacher or a co-worker. The setting is so real that there can be no doubt in a first time readers mind the story is taking place right here in America land of the free where things like this just do not happen. This makes the shock at the end of the story that much greater. The reader is forced to deal with the fact, that all these evils, authority that is too powerful, terrible traditions, cowardice, and indifference are taking place right here right now in our own backyards. The setting makes the ending so powerful because the reader cannot remove the unpleasantness of the story by saying ?That stuff doesn?t happen here.?

The combination of setting, symbolic characters and a surprisingly twisted ending make ?The Lottery? by Shirley Jackson a truly powerful and thought provoking story.

Show More
Related

  • analysis the lottery

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson wrote many books in her life, but she was well known by people for her story “The Lottery” (Hicks). “The Lottery” was published on June 28, 1948, in the New Yorker magazine (Schilb). The story sets in the morning of June 27th in a small town. The townspeople gather in the square to conduct their annual tradition, the Lottery. The winner of the lottery will stoned to death by the society. Although there is no main character in the story, the story develops within other important elements. There are some important elements of the story that develop the theme of the story: narrator and its point of view, symbolism, and main conflict. The story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, argues practicing a tradition without understanding the meaning of the practice is meaningless and dangerous.

    Read More

  • The Contrast of Two Great Short Stories: The Rocking Horse Winner and The Lottery

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.

    Read More

  • The Lottery and Harrison Bergeron

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is important because it demonstrates that Old Man Warner supports the lottery and what it entails. He feels that the lottery has been around a long time and therefore, there is no need to banish it. This shows that Old Man Warner is reluctant to change. He knows that people in society will listen to him due to his status as the 'wise...

    Read More

  • The Dangers Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    As old man Warner said, "There 's always been a lottery” (Jackson 4). This shows that the villagers have a lack of ability to change over time. No person in the town would stand up and say that this violent ritual was absurd, making them all out to be hypocrites just as Tessie was. Instead of doing so, one villager, Mr. Adams, comments that other towns around them were giving up the lottery, as if to suggest their town should do so as well. In reply old man Warner said, "Pack of crazy fools” (Jackson 4), and then, "Listening to the young folks, nothings good enough for them” (Jackson 4). Old man Warner can in a sense be seen as a symbol of the town and their lack of change. He disapproves of anything that isn’t what he views as a traditional social practice. Old man Warner’s quick defense of the lottery implies that he sees change as an attack on himself and his beliefs. Blindly following tradition can cause the rejection of non-conformity in a society, even those traditions that are full of

    Read More

  • Tradition In Shirley Jackson's Lottery

    2110 Words  | 5 Pages

    Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery” satirically creates a society that puts the importance of tradition above even the life of the members of the community, as indicated by Old Man Warner’s response to Mr. Adams stating, “‘[O]ver in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.’ Old Man Warner snorted. ‘Pack of crazy fools … Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them … There’s always been a lottery,’ he added petulantly” (413). Here Old Man Warner defends the tradition of their society, though notably without justifying the tradition. Rather, he focuses on the people of other villages and the tradition as self-evident, both logical fallacies. The first argument he makes in favor of continuing to have a lottery is an ad

    Read More

  • Comparing The Veldt And The Lottery

    568 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the end of the story, whoever wins the lottery has to be stoned to death. “ Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," ”. The whole entire village, including old man Warner, who has done it for 77 years, is completely blind that this crazy old tradition is completely horrid. What old man warner believed and said was crazy, made the truly demented behavior routine, because their ignorant feelings and what they think about the tradition or what they’ve always done has no dimension to it. They don’t think they just go and do, rather than deepening their understanding of why other village’s don’t do it, or how much nonsense it is.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are regions in parts of the globe that take part in normal activities that, here in the United States, would be considered completely abnormal, even inhumane. Yet, traditional ties sewn into a cultural realm deems certain events, such as “the lottery”, to be well within the bounds of socially acceptable. Old Man Warner epitomizes the relevance of the power of tradition in this short story, and the symbol that takes shape from it. A veteran of seventy-seven years in the lottery, he snorts at the idea of giving it up. “Nothing but trouble in that… Pack of young fools,” he says when it is mentioned that some towns have given it up. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore…” he spouts off, illogically. The lottery was so steeped in the town’s traditional makeup that even the barbaric physical act of killing someone with stones was not the least bit

    Read More

  • Names in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of these is Old Man Warner.  Mr. Warner is the oldest man in town and, therefore, having the most knowledge of what the original tradition was all about.  He lets us know that there has “always been a lottery” (77).  He is repetadly shown “warning” the younger parents and the younger generation of what they are in for if they do away with the lottery.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.

    Read More

  • Sherri Jackson: The Theme Of Conformity

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    In doing so, the human species is able to remain at the top of the food chain, eliminating any deviation that could arise otherwise. The author illustrates this through a conversation exchanged between Mr. Adams and Old Man Warner, which discusses the other villages stopping the process of the lottery. This aggravates Old Man Warner as he goes off on a tangent about life before the lottery, how it saved them from a life of limits and poverty (Jackson 4). The Old man is a symbol of the lottery to the town; the eldest and wisest person around, who wholeheartedly devoted himself to this cause. He knows what the lottery has done for society first hand and has the better judgment of the two through age and experience. In the same way that the elderly man promotes the lottery, he is also a reminder that there is no room for questions and curiosity during this time period, as they lead to uncovering pain. Within the text the two discuss, “some places have already quit lotteries […] nothing but trouble in that. Pack of young fools” (Jackson 4). Mr. Adams was shut down immediately, as Warner correlates his age and being naïve as the explanation of how ignorant and ungrateful people are. The towns’ people do not know what life could be like without the lottery, however because someone is telling them that

    Read More

  • Analysis of Shirley Jackson's Short Story, The Lottery

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    Analysis of Shirley Jackson's Short Story The Lottery. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a great short story. It focuses on a small village that has a “lottery” every year. This lottery is a ritual that has been passed down since the founders of the village.

    Read More

  • The Influence of Characters in Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery"

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ontains characters that highlight the message of the story and relate to readers. Additionally, the characters have traits that confirm Jackson’s success in writing Horror stories. She creates Old Man Warner, Tess, and the women to fulfill these roles. Short stories come alive based on character choice, and Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is no different. “The Lottery” will haunt all readers based off character influences and true to life traits.

    Read More

  • Discussion of Literary Techniques Used in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson is a short story about a community that has a yearly lottery pull. The short story is set in a small town that is seemingly normal at first. Every year the town has a lottery pull, in which one person is chosen at random, to be stoned to death by all of their fellow townsmen. The lottery is a tradition that was started many years ago, and is kept alive by the current residents. By using symbolism, irony, and setting Jackson shows the true darkness within the entirety of the human race.

    Read More

  • Theme of the Unexpected in The Lottery

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    What thoughts come to mind when you think of "The Lottery?" Positive thoughts including money, a new home, excitement, and happiness are all associated with the lottery in most cases. However, this is not the case in Shirley Jackson’s short story, "The Lottery." Here, the characters in the story are not gambling for money, instead they are gambling for their life. A shock that surprises the reader as she unveils this horrifying tradition in the village on this beautiful summer day. This gamble for their life is a result of tradition, a tradition that is cruel and inhumane, yet upheld in this town. Shirley Jackson provides the reader’s with a graphic description of violence, cruelty, and inhumane treatment which leads to the unexpected meaning of "The Lottery." Born in San Francisco, Jackson began writing early in her life. She won a poetry prize at age twelve and continued writing through high school. In 1937 she entered Syracuse University, where she published stories in the student literary magazine. After marriage to Stanley Edgar Hyman, a notable literary critic, she continued to write. Her first national publication “My Life with R.H. Macy” was published in The New Republic in 1941but her best-known work is “The Lottery.”(Lit Links or Reagan). Jackson uses characterization and symbolism to portray a story with rising action that surprises the reader with the unexpected odd ritual in the village. While one would expect “The Lottery” to be a positive event, the reader’s are surprised with a ritual that has been around for seventy-seven years , demonstrating how unwilling people are to make changes in their everyday life despite the unjust and cruel treatment that is associated with this tradi...

    Read More

  • Old Man Warner's Message In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1145 Words  | 3 Pages

    One character who really draws the attention of readers is Old Man Warner. Old Man Warner is the town’s wise man. Therefore, what he says must be true since he has been around for so long. Old Man Warner comments that, ““...There’s always been a lottery,” he added petulantly. “Bad enough to see young Joe Summer joking up there with everybody.” “Some places have already quit lotteries,” Mrs. Adams said. “Nothing but trouble in that,” Old Man Warner said stoutly. “Pack of young fools.”” (Jackson 432). This quote implies that they are very content on keeping tradition going, and although some may want to end it, elders tell otherwise. Literary critic Martha Cornog states, “The ritual’s origins are forgotten, and other towns have given it up, but these villagers keep the tradition out of habit…” (Cornog 2). This is very true, because villagers have had many opportunities to stop the tradition like the other villages, yet they continue it. The story goes on to tell that this is not Old Man Warner's first rodeo. Shirley Jackson suggests this by writing, ““Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery,” Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. “Seventy-seventh time.”” (Jackson 423). He has been through so many lotteries that he has trouble wanting to stray from tradition like others have suggested. Some other characters who also suggested the theme is the children. The children are taught

    Read More

More about Symbolism and Setting in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Open Document