The symbolism of the black box in this short story helps to portray the theme of tradition. The black box is the box that holds all the slips of paper when the lottery takes place. The black box has replaced once since the tradition started, but no one has bothered to replace it again out of sake for tradition: “The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained (Jackson).” The black box is beginning to fall apart, and Mr. Summers claims he will replace it each year, yet no one ever does for “old time’s sake.” They are all blindly following the tradition, just to follow it, even though the box clearly needs to
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Mrs. Hutchinson unknowingly committed an ironic action: “Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, 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 (Jackson).” As important of a tradition as this is, she claimed to forget what day it was, her fate unknown. “She tells her companions: ‘Clean forgot what day it was.’ The irony and thematic thrust also become apparent as the story goes on (Timko).” Jackson most likely wrote Mrs. Hutchinson’s tardiness into the story to exaggerate the irony in Tessie’s …show more content…
Lotteries are generally associated with winning, whether it be money or a prize; however as stated towards the end of the story: “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. ‘It isn't fair,’ she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, ‘Come on, come on, everyone.’ Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him. ‘It isn't fair, it isn't right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her (Jackson).” She is being stoned to death by her fellow townspeople. In this case, winning the lottery means death, maybe even murder; however, no one seems to see this as such. As Timko says, “The former, the ironic nature of the entire ceremony itself, with its fatal result, is evident in Mrs. Hutchinson's statement about ‘clean forgetting’; and the irony becomes even more obvious by the way the characters regard the manner in which the lottery is conducted: it begins at ten in the morning so that the villagers could get home for lunch [...] (Timko).” The lottery is conducted like any ordinary day in their town, and no one seems to even bat an eye at stoning another person. They don’t see the cruelty or injustice of this tradition, and it’s possible they might only be looking for violence and
Mrs. Hutchinson unknowingly committed an ironic action: “Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, 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 (Jackson).” As important of a tradition as this is, she claimed to forget what day it was, her fate unknown. “She tells her companions: ‘Clean forgot what day it was.’ The irony and thematic thrust also become apparent as the story goes on (Timko).” Jackson most likely wrote Mrs. Hutchinson’s tardiness into the story to exaggerate the irony in Tessie’s …show more content…
Lotteries are generally associated with winning, whether it be money or a prize; however as stated towards the end of the story: “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. ‘It isn't fair,’ she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, ‘Come on, come on, everyone.’ Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him. ‘It isn't fair, it isn't right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her (Jackson).” She is being stoned to death by her fellow townspeople. In this case, winning the lottery means death, maybe even murder; however, no one seems to see this as such. As Timko says, “The former, the ironic nature of the entire ceremony itself, with its fatal result, is evident in Mrs. Hutchinson's statement about ‘clean forgetting’; and the irony becomes even more obvious by the way the characters regard the manner in which the lottery is conducted: it begins at ten in the morning so that the villagers could get home for lunch [...] (Timko).” The lottery is conducted like any ordinary day in their town, and no one seems to even bat an eye at stoning another person. They don’t see the cruelty or injustice of this tradition, and it’s possible they might only be looking for violence and