Preview

Symbolism The Lottery

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
80 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Symbolism The Lottery
When someone wins the lottery their biggest dream has become reality, they are set for life, and will never have to work again. That may be true in real life but not in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. When you win the lottery in her story you don't win money, someone in the village gets stoned to death. Jackson’s story represents something much darker than death. Jackson uses symbolism to show the theme of tradition in her short story “The Lottery”.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use Symbols In The Short Story The Lottery
    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use Symbols In The Short Story The Lottery

    In the Short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author uses symbolism in many ways. Symbolism is used to personify a meaning that is different than its literal in this story. Jackson uses symbols to show us that the lottery and its true traditions are falling apart. The utter disrepair of the black box, and stool, and the changing of the ballots symbolize the breakdown of the original tradition of the lottery.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    An Analysis Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An Analysis Of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    This is a story about a small rural village that holds its annual lottery. Families in the village participate and the lottery starts by one representative from each family pulling a piece of paper from the black box the one who gets the paper with the black spot is stoned to death as per tradition of the lottery. This world that is created by Shirley Jackson in “The Lottery” is a dystopia.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use Irony In The Lottery
    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use Irony In The Lottery

    Usually, when one hears anything about a lottery, it is perceived as being a great fortune brought down upon whoever wins it, even if the person has done nothing to actually deserve it. After all, it is won only by a stroke of luck, an unforeseen and unexpected circumstance. But even so, it is supposed to bring wealth and luxury into the winner’s life. Not one person in today’s society would ever see the lottery as an unfortunate event that winning it would bring serious repercussions such as execution and death. On the contrary, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, uses irony to exemplify how people can illogically follow senseless traditions and ultimately demonstrates how society can blindly persecute innocent individuals.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use The Stones In The Lottery
    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Does Shirley Jackson Use The Stones In The Lottery

    In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the writer clearly brings out various symbols and aspects that later indicates the irony of what “The Lottery” in reality means. It is evident that what begins as a bright and peaceful summer day later transpires into a perverted stoning event. Each and every single part included in the short story points out the destiny. The story is presented in such a way, that the writer excellently illustrates how items, human beings, and people’s actions clearly stand out as symbols. 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.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    'Symbolism In The Lottery'
    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page

    'Symbolism In The Lottery'

    Great post, after reading “The Lottery” another time I believed that the short has a lot of symbolism that criticize the Christianity and many other religious traditions, for instant the black box symbolizes the Bible, the three legged stool symbolized the trinity for Christians and other various religious traditions like the three Norse Fates and the stones relates to the text in the Bible about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery John 8:1-11.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Symbolism in the Lottery
    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Symbolism in the Lottery

    Shirley Jackson uses symbolism in “The Lottery” to show the importance of remaining faithful to tradition and the unknown consequences that seem to occur when citizens lose touch with their village’s rituals. The idea of a yearly lottery in this small village is a very important ritual that has been passed down for such a long time, so long that nobody knows why it was started or why it is necessary to keep following through with it. The old black box that is used in the lottery to determine one’s fate is the most significant symbol in this story. Nobody wants to use a newer box because they feel it is the only thing that ties back to the origin of the lottery. They have only changed the use of wood chips to pieces of paper.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page

    Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    In the short story “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to describe how being oblivious towards the meaning a tradition can lead to dangerous consequences. The box used in the lottery symbolizes an old tradition that the villagers follow. Though “the original paraphernalia for the lottery has been lost long ago” (pg195) and “the villagers [have] forgotten the ritual” (pg201), “they still [remember] to use stones” (pg201) during the execution portion of the lottery. However, the villagers do not know how this started; they just know that “there’s always been a lottery” (pg198), even before Old Man Warner was born. This shows how the villagers are blindly following a tradition that involves the death of a person without knowing why…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In 'The Lottery And Everyday Use'
    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Symbolism In 'The Lottery And Everyday Use'

    Symbolism is a magnificent thing. It can prep the reader to expect something unique to the story, and sometimes symbolism isn’t even recognized until the reader has completely finished the story. For this critical analysis, I will be looking at the symbolism in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Inhumane Ritual In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Inhumane Ritual In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    The short story by Shirley Jackson “The Lottery” serves as a mirror to see our own society and rituals at an extreme. Throughout the story the author normalizes the characters’ inhumane ritual so the reader would be able to understand the underlining meaning of the story. In our society there are rituals that we do not dare to question because they have been embedded into our lives. The character Old Man Warner justifies such rituals by saying, on page 142, “There’s always been a lottery.” he himself not entirely understanding why it is done. Shirley Jackson wants the reader to understand how oblivious society is to itself, and shows how it would be if it were to be looked upon in an outer perspective.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Foreshadowing In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Foreshadowing In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    Overall Shirley Jackson discusses the movement of the setting, the unusual foreshadowing, and the outermost symbolism in "The Lottery" to give an overall point of view of the story.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In The Lottery
    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page

    Symbolism In The Lottery

    The symbol of the Lottery In the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the author uses a black as a symbol to convey an underlying message of the corruption of the community’s children’s mind. Due to the fearful and deadly tradition of the community. For example, in the article, it states “Mr. Graves took the the child’s hand and removed the folded piece of paper from the tight fist.…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Literary Analysis
    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Literary Analysis

    “ The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, shows the corruption in a village whose people treat life with insignificance. Through the use of literary devices, Jackson portrays how practices in traditions can be barbaric;ultimately, resulting in persecution.…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Symbolism In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    What is a symbol? A symbol is defined as person, place, or thing that suggests more than a literal meaning. In “The Lottery” there are 2 main symbols that really come to the reader’s attention. “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson. The story occurs on the morning of June 27th. It was a clear and sunny day in a village of about 300 people. All of the villagers began to gather into the town square to participate in a lottery run by Mr. Summers, who officiates at all the big civic events. When the children first arrive they begin to collect stones until their parents call them to order. Just as Mr. Summers begins to assemble the villagers Mrs. Hutchinson, the wife of Bill Hutchinson, arrives.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Lottery Symbolism Analysis
    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Lottery Symbolism Analysis

    Overall, Shirley Jackson describes the black box as “shabby and old” (264). However, the black box and the title are important to notice as a symbol to represent the central message of “The Lottery.” At the beginning of the story, Shirley represents Mrs. Hutchison as a normal person. Then, the author achieves a successful, well-written story of her being stoned to death by an unlucky choice of a black box. Therefore, it is foremost to include symbolism in short stories to understand the full meaning of…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Duality Of Human Nature In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Duality Of Human Nature In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948, yet still, leaves a mark on any person who gets their hands on it today. The story starts out by setting an enjoyable atmosphere at the beginning of summer. The community gathers and the story almost fulfills the reader’s idea of a perfect town activity. However, the story has a sharp twist at the end that leaves the reader in shock. Jackson wrote the story to leave an impact and whom how quickly human nature can change. Shirley Jackson shows the duality of human nature in the characters of the children, Tessie Hutchinson, and Mr. Summers.…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics