Symbolism And Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
Shirley Jackson’s famous story, “The Lottery” is a brutally descriptive story about how a small village participates in the annual lottery. All throughout the story, Jackson uses several literary devices to convey the meaning behind this town’s tradition. Normally when individuals think about a tradition, they visualize something positive. However, in “The Lottery”, tradition is illustrated as something unfortunate and deadly. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson shows the theme of the violence within a small village through symbolism to show that even the most ordinary people can commit violence, which can eventually lead to killing innocent individuals.
The imagery of the black box in “The Lottery” provides readers a descriptive explanation of one of the most important objects in the story; making it clear to see that the Black box is an asset to the tradition. As the author is describing the black box , it is clear to see that it is old and worn out. One out of the numerous descriptions that were provided about the black box was that it was “splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.” This simply states that the black box has been around for many generations since the beginning of the lottery. It also shows how the original tradition has over the years; lost its original meaning, and the participants still do not question the idea of stoning individuals in their community. The word “stained” simply means that not
The Lottery Symbolism Essay
985 Words | 4 PagesShirley Jackson’s use of symbolism is complex in her short story “The Lottery.” The symbolism of the black box in the story is used to represent adherence to tradition. The marked slip of paper symbolizes being the scapegoat of the community or a danger to others. The symbolization of the stones represents the violent and primitive nature that humans have that can be carried on through traditions. This story uses the symbolism of the black box, the marked slip of paper, and the stones in a way that makes the reader reflect on what “traditions” they blindly follow or how they are complacent in the harm those traditions cause.
How Does The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Use Of Symbolism
327 Words | 2 PagesShirley Jackson uses symbolism in her short story, “The Lottery” (1948), to underline that some traditions should be abandoned by providing the readers with specific descriptions of physical manifestations that correlate to the tradition’s existence. Progressing through the story, Jackson mentions the black wooden box along with the three-legged stool in the fourth paragraph, where “the stool was put in the center of the square and […] the black box down on it” (Jackson). As she continues to refer back to the black wooden box on the three-legged stool an abundant amount of times, readers can infer that symbolism revolves around these two articles. Symbolizing the yearly lottery tradition, the black box “was no longer completely black, but splintered
Tradition Exposed In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
618 Words | 3 PagesMany current customs can be traced back hundreds of years. Sometimes these traditions change over time, often so much so that the details or even the original purpose can be forgotten. In her short story “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson points out how even modern will participate in rituals that can range from foolish to barbaric in the name of antiquated cultural customs whose details and very purpose has long been forgotten. Jackson sets the scene with a description of a sunny…summer day” in a civilized community, with a “post office,” “bank,” and a “school” (paragraph 1). Little children play with stones” and run around in the schoolyard (2).
Tradition Illustrated In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
529 Words | 3 Pages“The Lottery”, a horror story created by Shirley Jackson, is about a moderate sized village that sacrifices innocent villagers in a forsaken lottery for the sake of tradition, and for their belief of good fortune that will arise. This story presents a lot of themes that relate to the real world, and these themes revolve around the negatives of society such as shunning, and forced indoctrination. One theme demonstrated was the theme of tradition versus progress. Tradition is not always right because it prevents society from progressing forward. Shirley Jackson vividly presents that theme through the characters’ malicious actions.
Symbolism And Irony In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
924 Words | 4 Pages“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson is an intense short story with significant symbolism and irony. The story reminds me of a few modern day movies and novels, such as The Hunger Games or The Purge. The primal idea that every person has evil in them, as well as, they will be a “follower,” simply out of fear is my perception of the story’s intended message. There are many different uses of symbolism used in the story; The Lottery itself, the black box and black dot, the white sheets of paper, and the stones are the main uses of symbolism and will be discussed throughout this paper. When most people think of the lottery, they think of winning big or hitting the jackpot.
Symbolism Depicted In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
585 Words | 3 PagesIn the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson there is an annual death lottery. My theory as to why the lottery was started is that the lottery ensured a good harvest. My theory as to why the lottery continues is that the lottery has become empty tradition and people are afraid to change it. The story “The Lottery” is written to hint at the fact that the lottery was started because it ensured a good harvest.
The Lottery Rhetorical Analysis
1000 Words | 4 PagesIn 1948, when the New Yorker published Shirley Jacksons piece, “The Lottery,” it sparked outrage among readers, but could arguably be known as one of her most famous pieces of writing. In this short story, Shirley Jackson used literally elements such as imagery, diction, and symbolism to foreshadow the negative and harsh ending of the story; the harsh ending that sparked such outrage by society in the 1940’s. One of the main ways Jackson foreshadows the ending and true meaning of her short story, “The Lottery,” is through symbolism. Jackson uses the color black throughout the story.
Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
152 Words | 1 PagesIn Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the author has demonstrated each symbol and the meaning that holds behind them. The black box is culturally known as a dark and evil color. It represents the fate of the people in town, and the three-legged stool is used as a support for the black box to lay on top of the object. Stoning is ancient.
The Lottery Tradition Essay
501 Words | 3 PagesThe Lottery itself represents a primal example of loss of innocence; portrayed through the young boys who gather at the town square to collect rocks for the horrors soon to follow. An illustration of how traditions can lose their true meanings and come to represent violence and warfare. Furthermore, “The Lottery” also represents the decaying characteristics of traditions, as symbolized by the town’s black box, in this case where every year, someone’s name is drawn out of the black box and they are stoned to death, by other members who may or may not end up to be family. Nonetheless, it ends up to be the villagers who
Irony And Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
790 Words | 4 PagesThe Lottery In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” , a small village gathers in the village square for a traditional event that suddenly awakens the reader in the end. The reader is not aware of the nature of the villagers and is mislead by the meaning of the story, eventually giving the reader a clear view of what the nature of humanity is actually like. Jackson surprises the reader in order to convey a truth about human nature. Irony, symbolism and foreshadowing are used to covey the story’s message that humans tend to rationalize their brutal behavior.
Horror And Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'
1737 Words | 7 PagesThe short story “The lottery” is about a small village that has an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. Many of the townspeople know this is inhumane, but they choose not to speak out because their name isn’t picked. Jackson uses direct characterization to describe all the characters in the village and uses symbolism throughout the story. Not to forget about the vivid description of the setting in the beginning of the short story. Shirley
Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
593 Words | 3 PagesImagine a society where killing somebody for the sake of a tradition is acceptable. In the short story “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson describes an ordinary village with normal people, but as the story progress the details of their yearly practice known as “the lottery” unravels to be more disturbing. The author subverts the readers’ expiations by persuading the reader into assuming “the lottery” is a ordinary tradition until unusual details and the behavior of the characters come into place. In her short story “The Lottery,” Jackson seemingly uses ordinary details about the setting and the townspeople to characterize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, and may appear so, it is inherently barbaric.
Symbolism And Themes In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson
1474 Words | 6 Pages“The Lottery” is an realism/horror story written by Shirley Jackson. The story is about some villagers of a small New England town who follow the tradition of making a lottery every year. When it comes, they like to celebrate it with the correct rules and the correct objects so they can feel more comfortable. Everyone need to take a slip of paper from a small black box, and the paper with a black dot in it means that the family is the winner, then they raffle again; Bill Hutchinson, who was the husband of the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson picked a paper with a black dot in it, that meant that Tessie was the winner of the lottery, then she starts complaining because the drawing was not conducted properly. At the end, the townspeople moved off to a cleared spot outside the town and they begin stoning her to death (Jackson).
Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
926 Words | 4 PagesThe main symbols displayed in the lottery are the rocks, the black box, as well as the stool. The rocks symbolize the method of death. Stoning was a common way of killing people who had to pay a price of some sort. However, they would want to make the experience painful and drawn-out.
Analysis Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
978 Words | 4 PagesEveryone has a different set of criteria when they decide whether a piece of writing is good or not. I have my own criteria as well. Although there are so many elements that influence an impression of a piece of writing, I narrowed it down to three; Is it open to various interpretations? Is it easy to understand? Is it realistic?
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