The fact that the box grows shabbier and shabbier without being changed is an evidence of how the people generally cling to traditions and refuse to let go: "Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done. 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..."(Jackson, 115) the black box is thus a symbol for how certain ideas and conceptions are stored up by people who deny change and novelty. There are obviously many situations in real life in which Jackson's allegory applies. Clinging to tradition, people refuse to accept new realities about the world they live in. This can often lead to serious problems such as racism, exclusion of other people, rejection and many other social conflicts. Even if a certain tradition is not as violent as that in Jackson's story...
Traditions should not be used thus as the bases for establishing the identity of a particular community. The use of a lottery as the main element in the allegory is also very telling: tradition proves to be something irrational and random.
Kosenko notes, the village in "The Lottery" "exhibits the same socio-economic stratification that most people take for granted in a modern, capitalist society. Summers, whose name reflects the time of year in which the lottery takes place, is in charge of the solemn ritual. Although not portrayed as corrupt, Summer nevertheless represents an inherently violent element within modern capitalist hierarchies. Graves, whose name symbolizes death itself, is the town
Other characters also make a strong contribution to the theme of the story. The character of Delacroix is important because this name reflects the role of religion in this brutality, again pointing the reader to the idea that religion is a contributing factor to mankind's brutality. "De la croix" is French for "of the cross," but the character's name has been bastardized by the villagers. This symbolizes how religion has
Jackson was born in San Francisco, to father Leslie Jackson, an English immigrant and Geraldine Bugbee Jackson, who was related to the famous California architects, an association some give credit for driving her sense of place and detail for architecture in her stories. She spent most of her years in Vermont and is associated as a New England writer. The last work Jackson published, like the Lottery was one
Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a masterful short story that tricks its reader initially, and later surprises the reader into the understanding of the dynamics of scapegoat. The value of the book lies in its narrative technique that engages the reader dramatically in the textual process in such a manner that the reader participates in the act of scapegoat by means of identification with the townspeople (Lenemaja 1975). Simultaneously, when the
But there are also similarities in the characters, the setting, the plot, themes and the use of metaphor and symbolism. For example, the setting of the story is in another village, namely, Greenwich Village in New York City, where the main character, Hilda Clarence, works "as a stenographer in a coal and coke concern" (49), similar to Mr. Summer and his coal business in "The Lottery." Ms. Clarence also
Shirley Jackson is a short story writer known for writing disturbing stories that focus not on horrific events, but on normal events that occur in society. Her stories add new meaning to common events that everyone can relate to, often also making a comment on our society. Three of her stories that have these features are The Witch, An Ordinary Day, With Peanuts, and After You, My Dear Alphonse. Comparing
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