Use of Symbolism in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

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On a summer day in June, villagers gathered to participate in the yearly lottery which was run by Mr. Summers because “lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.”(Jackson 1868). The children came in first picking some stones fallowed by their parents. Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late and begins to chat with Mrs. Delacroix then the lottery begins. Mr. Summers starts to call up the men of the house hold up to the black box to draw a piece of paper which would determine who wins the lottery. It is the Hutchinson family that gets picked this year. Mrs. Hutchinson insists that her husband didn’t have enough time to pick. As the family goes up to go draw once more, Mrs. Hutchison is still protesting. Once all of them draw, it is Mrs. Hutchinson that is the winner of the lottery. As the villagers cage her in against the wall, she keeps on insetting that “it’s not fair,” but it’s too late because she is already being stoned to death by not only the villagers but also by her family as well.

Symbolism is when something represents a noun or an object that you are presenting or trying to explain. For example, the color red can symbolize something bad and the color white can symbolize something good. Also, the morning can symbolize the start of a new day or a new beginning as to the night time can represent the end of an old chapter. Symbolism isn’t just used in things like life; it is also used in things like education wise. For instance how a pencil and paper can symbolize writing or reading class or, how a globe or a map symbolizes world geography. In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, Jackson, without a doubt, uses a manifold of symbolism in her story.

In “The Lottery” the character Mr. Summers symbolizes “the season of the year” (Names...

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