Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

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There is more meaning behind every object and the importance it holds is what focuses to make it more understandable to the readers. Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas by giving them symbolic meanings that are not the same as their literal sense. For example, violets can symbolize shyness. Even animals can be represented as symbols. Here in the United States the bald headed eagle represents freedom and independence. Also a cross represents religion and faith. Even now a days teens and kids use symbols while texting or on their social media sites. We see symbols every day and we don’t always pay much attention to them. Symbols are especially used in literature and writing. Many of the greatest writers in history and even today writers use symbolism in their papers or novels.

In the short story, there is a small village that has a lottery every June. When you think of a lottery you automatically think something good or winning money. Well in this story it’s not exactly that. They have a lottery to see who will get picked to be stoned so that they will have a good harvesting season. The story has characters like Mr. Summers who conducts the lottery and Mr. Graves who helps him and people like Old Man Warner who is the oldest man in town and has gone through the lottery seventy seven times. It’s not like a drawing but what happens is the head of the family goes up and picks a little paper from a black box. Once every family has picked their little paper they all open it to see which family got the paper with a black dot on it. In the short story it is the

Hutchinson family who draws the paper with the black dot. After each person in the family draws again from the black box whoever has the paper with the black ...

... middle of paper ...

...23 Help Me. 123 Help Me, Inc., n.d. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

Cassel, Seth. “Symbols in ‘The Lottery’.” Flamingnet. Litpick, LLC, Nov 2005. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

Gahr, Elton and Rhonda Bowen, ed. “Understanding the symbols in ‘The Lottery’.” Bright Hub Education. Bright Hub, Inc., 5 Jan 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. 1864. Print.

Ma, Martine. “Literary Analysis Essay: ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Word Press. N.P., 10 Jun 2013. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

Pirate Teacher and Lentz. “What are Symbols in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Enotes. Enotes, Inc., 10 Nov 2011 and 19 Sep 2012. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

Scheelat, Lucas. “Symbolism in ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” Reading Reaction. N.P., 26 Jan 2009. Web. 17 Mar 2014.

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