Stoned To Death In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is a story about an annual lottery taking place in a small town in New England. Every year the lottery is held, where the winner of the random lottery is then stoned to death. This lottery has been a long held tradition in this small town and it is a tradition that everyone must take part in. The man in charge of the lottery drawing, Mr. Summers, call each head of household forward to a black box, where they must select a small piece of paper. After the men have chosen, they are allowed to open the paper and see who is selected. This year, Bill Hutchinson is selected and then the lottery redraws again with just the Hutchinson family members. After each member of the Hutchinson family selects a paper and they reveal them, it is the mother, Tessie who draws the slip of paper with the black dot on it. The villagers then surround her, and the story becomes clear that the prize of the lottery is being stoned to death. By using symbolism, Jackson uses various objects to hide the true meaning of the story.
The objects in the story represent religious and symbolic meanings to this
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The story symbolizes tradition, unquestioned traditions that exist not just in the society of the Lottery. The Lottery suggests collective mentality, despite Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson being married he participates in the stoning of his wife, as do her children and friends. When a group is set in a tradition, people lose their individuality and may succumb to peer pressure. The fact that Mr. Hutchinson and her friends in the town can go from being neighbors and casual with each other one moment, to stoning her the next, show how quickly people can have a change of heart. The heavy emphasis on religious traditions and symbols make Shirley Jacksons the Lottery a dark and mysterious short story that leaves a lasting impression on the

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