Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the writer present one with various symbols and attributes that later donates the irony of what “The Lottery” in reality means. It is evident that what starts out as a bright and peaceful summer day later unfolds into a twisted stoning event. Each and every detail used in the short story is a clue connecting to the final eventuality of the story. Throughout this story, the writer does a great job of illustrating how objects, people, and people’s actions work together to create symbolism. As a matter of facts, I can say that Jackson uses the black box, the three-legged stool, and the stones to symbolize the various aspects of this particular society and its long rooted, clueless and astonishing tradition. …show more content…
The box is a physical manifestation of the villager’s connection to tradition; Jackson is pretty explicit on this point when the subject of replacing the box comes up; “No one liked to upset even as much tradition as we represented by the black box”. They believe that this box may in part be made of shards of the previous boxes, back to the original black box. The black box has no functionality except during these two hours of every June. The purpose of the box, like the lottery itself, has become obscure with the passage of time. It is well worn, but the villagers are reluctant to let it go, again like the lottery itself. In fact, I don’t think it’s too farfetched to say that the villagers’ treatment of the box represents their thinking on the subject of the lottery as a whole. Alternatively, black is culturally known as a color of evil. A color suggesting death. Jackson’s choice of using black for the box fits perfectly into the theme of the story and prevails as yet another element foreshadowing the future death of an