Carissa Beck
Writing About Literature
Jessica Roberson
2/18/18
The Lottery Many people pick stories with themes and symbols that smack them in the face. It is true that these are nice to read because it does not take much brain power to understand every bit of what is going on. Other people, however, may enjoy a book the is more of a hidden gem, with meanings just as hard to find as the story itself. Many people claim that Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery” to be a hidden gem. “The Lottery” is considered a hidden gem because the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, and ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately demonstrates how people blindly follow tradition.
There are many different symbols in this story, and the more research one does, the more they will find. There are three symbols that are considered to be the most prominent. The first one being the stones. Jackson not only attempted but achieved something that a lot of writers seem to have trouble with, turning an object that is seemingly harmless, into something deadly. Jackson mentions early in the story that there were kids picking up stones. Seemingly harmless child’s play, until the reader realizes why they were doing it. The second symbol is the black box, which all the pieces of paper are in. It is mentioned in the story …show more content…
Though there is no implied time period, the stoning has obviously been going on for a long time. Jackson shows how disturbingly normal the violence has become in this village. To prove this, Jackson writes “Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. "Clean forgot what day it was," she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly.” (141) With this being said, the read still does not know what is happening, but still assumes that it is
Writing About Literature
Jessica Roberson
2/18/18
The Lottery Many people pick stories with themes and symbols that smack them in the face. It is true that these are nice to read because it does not take much brain power to understand every bit of what is going on. Other people, however, may enjoy a book the is more of a hidden gem, with meanings just as hard to find as the story itself. Many people claim that Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery” to be a hidden gem. “The Lottery” is considered a hidden gem because the author creates a story filled with symbolism, irony, and ritualized tradition that masks evil, which ultimately demonstrates how people blindly follow tradition.
There are many different symbols in this story, and the more research one does, the more they will find. There are three symbols that are considered to be the most prominent. The first one being the stones. Jackson not only attempted but achieved something that a lot of writers seem to have trouble with, turning an object that is seemingly harmless, into something deadly. Jackson mentions early in the story that there were kids picking up stones. Seemingly harmless child’s play, until the reader realizes why they were doing it. The second symbol is the black box, which all the pieces of paper are in. It is mentioned in the story …show more content…
Though there is no implied time period, the stoning has obviously been going on for a long time. Jackson shows how disturbingly normal the violence has become in this village. To prove this, Jackson writes “Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. "Clean forgot what day it was," she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly.” (141) With this being said, the read still does not know what is happening, but still assumes that it is