Symbolism in Shirley Jackson´s The Lottery

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Recommended: The Lottery (critical analysis)

Throughout the course of humanity, people have sought ways to promote a society where moral unification and motivation are present. It is essential for a community to coincide with such values; therefore, tradition and folklore are transcended though generations as customs which people follow mostly without question. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, such traditions are exploited through a futile box along with a brutal ritual which symbolizes the way a society might mindlessly abide by them and feel powerless to divert from such illogical acts. The storyline contains a constant tone which depicts normalcy to present normalcy itself as seen by the villagers, yet whispers eerie to the reader by setting up hints and indications of what is really occurring. As the lottery is held annually, there is not much apparent concern for the deaths of one lost friend or family member a year. Basically, “The lottery was conducted-as were the square dances, the teen-age club, the Halloween program…” (Jackson 121) To these ignorant people, the tradition is almost a holiday in a sense...

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