The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis

Tradition has always been something engrained in every culture and it can be beautiful, fun, unusual, or in some cases ruthless. Every year in Bosnia they hold A Festival of Scrambled Eggs where free eggs are given out due to its symbol of new life. On the other hand, every year followers of Jainism conduct in a practice of fasting until death. 500 believers die every year from this because they don’t see the body as a sanctuary of the soul but instead as a prison of the soul. The Lottery was written shortly after World War II and the author declared the purpose of writing it was “to shock the story’s readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). Old Man Warner symbolizes this blind faith in tradition and is used in this story to show us the opposite of what the author believes. The author uses literary devices such as symbols, characterization, and theme to portray her message. Shirley Jackson shows through Old Man Warner that tradition in societies based upon ritual and blind faith leads to failure.

Symbol are the strongest literary device that Shirley Jackson enforces in The Lottery. One of the most interesting aspects of this story

They are the dangers of following tradition blindly and the scapegoat. A scapegoat is someone who is used to shoulder the blame of others and in this case it is Mrs. Hutchinson. Both themes lead up to the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson. The final scene is rich in detail and Old Man Warner is the one who encourages everyone to start the ritual “Come on, come on, everyone.” …It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,’’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed and then they were upon her. (Jackson 237). The part that sends goosebumps down the backs of readers is “and then they were upon her’’. It chillingly shows the actions of the town and how they use Mrs. Hutchinson as their scapegoat for their cruel