“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that takes place in the warm morning of June 27th in a small town of a couple hundred people, and it describes an annual and traditional event in the town. The event known as “The Lottery” is to sacrifice the winner to death using victimization and cruelty justifying these acts as a tradition. Even though, there are many point of view and interpretations about what this short story carry out, this section is rich and diverse concerning symbolism, setting, and particularly in terms of the theme. Among many different themes or subjects presented in “The Lottery” Jackson highlights three important aspects: violence and cruelty, custom and tradition, and last victim and victimization.
Violence …show more content…
Even though the villagers don’t know much about the origin of this tradition or even some aspects had been forgotten over the time, they are not able to deny or stop “The Lottery”. For example, “at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off each year”(134) . But they are not sure exactly how this ritual was. Although the chips of wood that had been used for generations was substituted by slips of paper. It means that some important element or ritual had been forgotten over the time. On the other hand, the black box is a symbol of continuity and transition of the tradition the generation to generation; in addition, even shabby and discolored they weren’t able to change it. “Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done” (134). When they suggest to Mr. Warner (oldest man of the village) that some other neighbor villages have already given up the lottery he said, “There’s always been a lottery” (136). Both, Mr. Warner and the black box are the synonyms of
Violence …show more content…
Even though the villagers don’t know much about the origin of this tradition or even some aspects had been forgotten over the time, they are not able to deny or stop “The Lottery”. For example, “at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off each year”(134) . But they are not sure exactly how this ritual was. Although the chips of wood that had been used for generations was substituted by slips of paper. It means that some important element or ritual had been forgotten over the time. On the other hand, the black box is a symbol of continuity and transition of the tradition the generation to generation; in addition, even shabby and discolored they weren’t able to change it. “Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done” (134). When they suggest to Mr. Warner (oldest man of the village) that some other neighbor villages have already given up the lottery he said, “There’s always been a lottery” (136). Both, Mr. Warner and the black box are the synonyms of