The Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Within the first few lines of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" we are faced with such adjectives as clear, sunny, fresh and warmth. She goes on to paint a picture of small children just out of school for the summer, as the townspeople gather for the annual Lottery. This leads us to believe that the rest of the story is as cheery as the summer day initially described. We as the readers are virtually unaware of the horrible senseless events that lie ahead. Through the use of symbolism Shirley Jackson reveals the underlying decay of ethics that results from an empty ritual followed by narrow-minded people.
Tessie Huchinson symbolizes the typical townsperson who lacks morals and conforms to the masses. Upon introduction she exudes a carefree attitude when she arrives late at the lottery, by joking with Mr. Summers and urging her husband to, "Get up there…" when their name is called to pick (Jackson 77). Consequently, the moment she finds out that her husband has the black dot Tessie yells, "It wasn't fair!" (Jackson 78). Naturally, the rest of the self-centered people urge her to "[b]e a good sport"(Jackson 78). The most disturbing event in the entire story is when Tessie tries to get her older daughters to be part of the final picking, and is dissapointed when she is told that they are only drawn with their husbands. The lottery proceeds and Tessie is stoned to death by her fellow neighbors. Shirley Jackson wants us to float along with her upbeat story and be completely appalled in the end at the total loss of human decency. Although Tessie was not said to be religious, her name might have been tied to a religious liberal named Anne Huchinson. "Anne was banished f...
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...ars, which has conditioned him to believe that they are doing the right thing.
As discussed in class, the theme to this story can be expressed within a quote, "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones"(Jackson 79). The tradition and its function had been forgotten yet these people still killed one of their friends every summer. Shirley Jackson symbolically paints us an unsettling portrait of the loss of human decency that results when seemingly civilized people ignorantly conform to the masses.
Bibliography:
Works Cited
"Hutchinson, Anne." The New Encyclopedia Britannica. 1986.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth
Mc Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice, 1999. 74-79.
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.
By further description of the author, the items involved in the ritual and the villagers’ specific reactions to changing them further downplay the conventional nature of the lottery. Even though the “original paraphernalia for the lottery has been lost long ago” (Jackson 134), the townspeople still use the worn down, old black box for drawing out the slips of paper. The box is older than the oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, but no one dares to discuss the replacement of the black box. Conjuring up a brand new box is discouraged as “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson 134). Brief lighting is shown on what the box represents which is motivated by the suggestion that the current box contains pieces of the original box used by the founders of the village. The black box is almost a symbol of tradition in a way that “it is based on a story, is passed down from generation to generation, changes very slowly over time, but nevertheless is believed to serve an important function within the community” (Michelson).
Of the many intriguing varieties of literary methods used to write most short stories, the author of The Lottery, Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, allegory and plot to make this story stand out. Of the many literary methods of writing, Jackson used symbolism and allegory to her advantage. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary classifies symbolism as “the particular idea or quality that is expressed by a symbol” and Allegory as “a story in which the characters and events are symbols that stand for ideas about human life or for a political or historical situation”. Jackson also organizes her story with a striking, broad message, which takes the reader by surprise. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary also lists Plot as “a series of events that form the story in a novel, movie, etc.” The combination of these methods assists the reader with the understanding of the story, the meaning, and the significance. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism, allegory, and plot to illustrate a theme of true human nature in The Lottery.
When most people play the lottery today, they think about having wealth. Generally, people who win are happy about it whether they win one dollar or a million. The lottery in our society has grown to support education and it is often worth several million dollars. Usually, the winner of the lottery gains a lot of recognition for the money they win. But what would happen if there was a small town where people held a yearly lottery in which the “winner” was the member of the town who was not sacrificed? This question is answered in Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.” In reading this story, and reading literary criticism about the story, there were many symbols and much symbolism in this story.
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.
Why would a civilized and peaceful town would ever suggest the horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at anytime and the most ordinary people can commit them. Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and “The Lottery”, perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story’s characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lacks significant individuating detail, most critics view “The Lottery.” As a modern-day parable or fable, which obliquely addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the danger of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the mass will. Shirley Jackson also addresses cruelty by the citizen’s refusal to stand up and oppose “The Lottery.” Violence and cruelty is a major theme in “The Lottery.”
her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. When Tessie wins the lottery; she
The short story “ The Lottery ” the author Shirley Jackson uses symbolism and imagery to develop a theme the brings forth the evil and inhumane nature of tradition and the danger of when it’s carried out with ignorance.
For example, Tessie was late for the lottery because she was washing dishes, although attending the lottery is mandatory and no one is expected to be late (265). All other women of the town make their way to the event in a timely manner as they chatter and “exchanging gossip with while meeting their husbands” (263). Tessie seems to be an outcast as she sets herself apart from all other characters in “The Lottery.” It seems odd at the end of the story when Tessie is protesting the results of the lottery because she never showed any oppression towards to lottery until she became threatened. “Tessie has, like the rest of the town, steadfastly refused to imagine the lottery from the victim 's point of view until forced to. Tessie pays a heavy penalty for her share in her society 's lack of vision, of sympathetic imagination.”(Cleveland) No one seems to care that she will die; in fact, her husband even tells her to “keep quiet” (268). Despite Tessie’s attempt to save herself, her fellow neighbors and family show no mercy while taking her life.
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
In the plot, Jackson foreshadows the horror which is due to come. The children are taught from a young age about the process which takes place for the death of a person, they prepare for this event by collecting “a great pile of stones” which is used later on in the persecution of Mrs. Hutchinson (1 Jackson). This illustrates that children have been indoctrinated to think that the death of a human is unimportant, and considered normal. They look at this event as a game instead of a serious
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.
Due to the characters conforming to this immoral tradition for so long, their evilness is brought to light. In the article “Jacksons The Lottery” Coulthard says, “It is a grim, even nihilistic, parable of the evil inherent in human nature” (Coulthard 1). Here he talks about how the evilness in these characters come about and how it will always remain due to evil being inborn into individuals. The tradition is not what makes these villagers evil, but the evilness within these characters is what keeps the tradition going. “It is not that the ancient custom of human sacrifice makes the villagers behave cruelly, but that their thinly veiled cruelty keeps the custom alive.” (Coulthard 2). Towards the end of the story, Jackson says, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” (Jackson 7). Readers can see in this passage that the villagers do not remember the purpose, but they remember the evil action which takes place in this lottery. This is because the villagers have evilness within them and rather act out in evilness. Readers can also see evilness when one of the main characters, Mrs. Delacroix, tells Tessie to be a good sport. “Be a good sport, Tessie” (Jackson 6). Mrs. Delacroix has evilness within her because she knows within a few minutes Tessie would be getting stoned to death, but still tells her to take this bad situation
Immediately, the women of “The Lottery” seem to be a friendly group who stick by one another’s sides. However, as the plot uncovers, the reader discovers that each woman would easily choose tradition over friendship. The traits of the women include endorsement of the “dominant culture” (Hattenhauer, 45), value of tradition, and belief in fairness. As the lottery transpires, the women advise Tess to “be a good sport” (Jackson, 140) because they all “took the same chance” (Jackson, 140). This simple encounter provides evidence that the women of “The Lottery” would undoubtedly lose a friendship to preserve the morals of tradition. When Tess finally reveals the paper with the mark on it, Mr. Summers is quick to begin the final step in the Lottery. The women oblige, and are even quicker to grab a stone from the children’s pile. One woman even orders another to “hurry up” (Jackson, 141) before picking up a “stone so large” (Jackson, 141) it required the use of both hands. “The Lottery” ends with the town’s people stoning Tess to death. Among the killers are the women that Tess once called friends.