Vicious Stoning in the Lottery by Shirley Jackson

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Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery,” takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred people. People in the village seemed to be close to one another up until the drawing of the lottery. The lottery, a yearly tradition, is held for one person to be randomly chosen to be brutally stoned to death by the people of the village, including the victim’s “friends” and “family”. Jackson uses a small and serene hometown setting along with a pleasant tone which ironically represents the insincerity and underlying immorality of mankind. By using symbolism, Jackson cleverly uses names, objects, and the setting to foreshadow the vicious stoning.
Jackson chose the names of each character in order to represent significant meanings to the lottery. The symbolic names indicate what will happen later on when the pulling of the lottery begins. Mr. Summers is one of the most important characters because he manages the lottery. He holds the black box, he calls the names, and he insists that the lottery moves as planned. The name of Mr. Summers seems to represent the beautiful sunlight, warmth, and happiness that we associate with summertime. However, as the story continues, the readers learn that Mr. Summers is not so happy and relaxed. Jackson states, “Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins” (pg 260). It seems as though Mr. Summers could careless that someone he knew was going to get stoned to death. He continued on with irrelevant conversations pertaining to anything but the impending death of whosever name was going to be pulled. Mr. Summers na...

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...f flowers and the warmth from the summer sun indicates that the story will be full of positive endeavors. However, the setting is primarily used to trick the readers into believing that the story will have a good ending. Jackson uses irony by painting an image in the reader’s minds of a perfect and happy town in which they would not expect the horrific ending of a violent stoning.
In conclusion, Jackson’s use of indirect symbolism and irony is evident throughout the whole story. The symbolism and foreshadowing slowly reveal the impending stoning at the end of the story. The symbolic use of names, objects, and setting of the lottery help the author to invite the readers in believing that they are going to read a story consisting of great events with an even better ending. However, the great events turn into deception and the better ending becomes a vicious murder.

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