Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson wrote the famous short story The Lottery in 1948, a time where people often hosted these with cash or numerous prizes. The way the story is twisted, told, foreshadowed and characterized is impressive because it keeps the reader guessing, asking the questions, “Who will win?” and “What’s the prize?” That truly is the beauty in this story and how it keeps the reader on a hook like a fish, until that final pull to being on land, and in the bucket. The Lottery is a short story about an annual event in which one person is to be randomly chosen to be stoned to death by the people in the village. By using and impressive display of symbolism Jackson uses names, objects, and the setting to conceal the true meaning and intention of the

For instance the boy Dickie Delecroix is French and means “Of the cross” however the other villagers seem to pronounce his surname as “Dellacroy” therefore poking or provoking the Christian symbol of martyrdom, the cross.
Another interesting one is “Summers”, the surname of the conductor of the lottery, now alone this may seem completely innocent and rather self-explanatory, however if you combine his name with the name of his assistant, “Mr. Graves” you can quickly deduct that there will be a grave in summer. Showing that not all is as it seems here in the lottery and that something terrible might and will happen to the “lucky” individual who prospers.
Tessie is the winner of this year’s lottery and therefore won the grand prize of being stoned to death by family, friends, and neighbor. Tessie (short for Teresa, Theresa, or Therasia) has multiple meanings but two of the most common are “harvester” and “reaper”. Two important ones when you remember the saying “You reap what you sow.” This has even more impact when you remember that earlier she was perfectly fine with the lottery until her household was chosen and even in previous years when she had participated in the stoning of