Symbolism, And Imagery In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery” is a story written by Shirley Jackson. By looking at the title you may think about money prize. In this story takes the readers expectation to another level. By the two words of the title there is no way the reader did not get hook to reading this story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, irony, and imagery. Symbolism is found in many place within the story. Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to communicate through picture with the readers. In the story there is a black wooden box that is well known to the villagers. In the black box there were two slips of paper one was white and the other was black. The box is a connection to their tradition in the village. “ Mr. Graves opened the slip of paper and there was a general

The title of the story is “The Lottery” and the title is very ironic. When looking at the title readers may think there is a character who is about to become rich and have a better lifestyle. There is a lot more that is happening than what the title expects you to think. Another example of irony is the setting of the story. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. With such a beautiful and nice day going along with nice weather you would not think that death would end up occurring. At the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen for the lottery, it is ironic that it does not upset her that she was chosen. Tessie was really upset because of the way she is chosen she shows this by saying “It isn’t fair it isn’t right”. (5) Jackson use of irony gives the readers reason to think and expect the

“Bill, Jr.,” Mr. Summers said, and Billy, his face red and his feet overlarge, near knocked the box over as he got a paper out. (5) The author visually described the facial expression of Bill Jr.in the quote. In the beginning Shirley Jackson stated that it was clear and sunny.” (1) The setting of the story was an example of imagery also. It brought about clear contrast to the deadly end of the story where Tessie is stored by the other villagers. Imagery was shown through the traditional black box of the village to. “The black box grew shabbier each year by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained”. (2) Shabbier, and splintered simplify that the box was in bad condition and had lack of care. Jackson use of imagery gives the readers a clear description of reactions that happened throughout the story.
In conclusion, Shirley Jackson used many literary devices throughout the entire story. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson, uses symbolism, irony, and imagery to appeal to readers that read this story. Other literary devices such as characterization were identified in this story but the three that were elaborated on were the ones that stood out. The emphasis on religious traditions and symbols make “The Lottery” one the darkest and most mysterious