¶ … Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Specifically it will discuss symbolism in the story, and how symbolism functions as a whole. Symbolism is one of the main themes of "The Lottery," and author Jackson develops and creates the story carefully to make the most of the symbolism she uses throughout it. The story symbolizes the black human nature that can be a part of all humankind, and illustrates how your neighbors can turn against you in an instant if it is to their benefit, or if the community condones it. This shows how close to animals humans really are. Jackson's symbolism is frightening because it is so accurate and so true of humankind.
Jackson's story is an intimate look into human nature and how humans can be intensely evil if they are allowed to be. She uses the symbolism of the yearly community event to show how the town's residents turn ugly and evil in just a few moments. This symbolizes the evil that can live in all of us, and how it only takes a moment for it to show itself. The townspeople gather, joke, and banter as they wait to draw who will die. That makes the symbolism even more terrifying, because they know what is going to happen and they make light of their own cruelty and ability to harm others. Jackson writes of their indifference, "The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands" (Jackson). This could be any community gathering, from the annual town picnic to a school event or even a religious event, and that makes the symbolism even more evil, just like townspeople. The townspeople symbolize evil, but they also symbolize the indifference of a society that allows something like this to occur and continue. Jackson notes, "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones" (Jackson). Indifferent to the suffering of the victim, they gather their rocks to stone Tessie Hutchinson with near glee, when the day before they were gossiping about neighborhood events.
The symbolism of this story...
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
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
The town and the people are just like "you and me," and Jackson strives to make them appear that way, from the way the men talk about " planting and rain, tractors and taxes" (Jackson), to the way Mrs. Hutchinson hurries up late, wiping her hands on her apron after doing a batch of dishes. These people could be our neighbors, our friends, even our families. They are "normal"
Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne" Nathaniel Hawthorne and Shirley Jackson like using symbols in expressing their thoughts in stories. "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Lottery" utilize symbols to emphasize themes in each of the stories. While Hawthorne makes use of objects and names to strengthen the theme, Jackson predominantly makes use of names to consolidate her theme; she does not limit to using a
Lottery" by Shirley Jackson The meaning of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' "It isn't fair, it isn't right." These are the last words expressed by the victim in Shirley Jackson's short story 'The Lottery', which provides a unique but shocking perspective of the innate evil that is part of human nature. The story starts off by describing a town scene that could not be more commonplace or predictable. The descriptions provided by
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