Symbolism Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In the Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it tells about a drawing held every year in a village every year. That the lottery has been going on for as been going on for a long time now. Even though the author does not clearly state the origin of the lottery or what it is about she does state that the person is chosen at random. The use of symbolism, Shirley Jackson uses the setting, names, and even the objects to give the reader clues on what the lottery is really about throughout the story. In the first part of the story, Jackson paints the scene by giving the reader vivid details of the setting, “Fresh warmth of a full-summer day; flowers blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson, 1). Jackson wants the reader to think that it …show more content…
The name of the conductor who is in charge of the lottery, his name is summers. The lottery also takes place during the summer season as told in the beginning of the lottery also, the postmaster, and the assistant of Mr. Summers is “Mr. Graves” (Jackson. 1). This gives the readers a clue that foreshadows the events after the lottery that someone will die in the middle of the summertime. When “Mrs. Adams” (Jackson 4) says that some places have left the lottery all together, meaning that they have seen the darkness of the lottery has on the people. Old man warner calls them, “Pack of young fools”. He calls them young fools since they are actually questioning the actions of the lottery and he doesn’t want to change with the new generation of …show more content…
She describes the box, “no longer completely black, but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained” (Jackson 2). Staining and fading on the box represents the tradition and the past of the lottery from the first settlers. The color black from the box represents the evil and death for which the lottery is all about. When asked if they should consider replacing the box it immediately changes subject because the villagers believe the story told by Old Man Warner is the box made from boxes that preceded it. This shows how much they want to stay true to tradition because that is all they know. Other objects that have not changed would be how they use the stones, even the author curious about the significance of the stones, “Villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” (Jackson 7). The villagers might not know about the origin of the lottery, remember the stones because that is how it’s always been for as long as they could remember. The stones represent a murder weapon in the earliest days of the lottery it displays this when the kids pile up stones in the corner and do not get sharp stones but smooth stones so it will last a little longer. By using the stones, everyone can participate so when the lottery ends no one can hold judgment against one