Phase 1 Prompt 2

         Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” achieves a feeling of shock and horror through symbolism and characters.

       The theme of “The Lottery” is to show the dangers of blinding following tradition. The main symbol in this theme is the black box, which is used for the lottery drawings.  This decaying vessel represents tradition, which is something most readers have in their lives (especially in 1948 when this was released).  Tradition is something passed down for generations and like the box, people will forget the reasoning behind it.  The original ceremony of the drawing has been altered, parts removed, wooden chips exchanged for paper, and chants and customs were removed due to forgotten reasoning (Jackson 195).  Despite these allowed changes, the box and some pieces of tradition were kept constant.  Mr. Summers tries to convince the villagers that a new box was needed, however, the towns people are unwilling to make such a change. The box itself was actually a second production, and one of the few reasons to not change it was a story that it had been crafted with pieces from the original box.  Each year, the box grew shabbier, losing its color, and splintered (196).  Such a symbol clearly mirrors our own traditions passed down from an ancient time, with their reason for existence fading and their strict standards altered. 

      Another symbol to be viewed are the words and names the author uses throughout her story.  The very first being the title.  A lottery is usually associated with a positive event.  Today there are lotteries for large sums of money and the original lottery (held in England in 1567) was used to distribute money to low-income families (World 477).  However, its ironic that the “winners” of Shirley Jackson’s lottery are sentenced to death.  Along with the title, the names of the characters can also be viewed as symbolic.  An ironic and misleading name is given to the conductor of the lottery.  Mr. Summers’ name and attitude show a positive tone. Referring back to the very first sentence of the story, Jackson paints a lovely picture of a “summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 194).  We can see use this to see how ironic Mr. Summers’ name is.

       Some would argue that Old Man Warner’s character and name symbolizes tradition itself, I believe that he symbolizes the driving force behind following tradition; the driving force being reluctance to change.  He says, “First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns.  There’s always been a lottery.” (199) He is unwilling to change because of a unsubstantiated belief that giving up the lottery would reduce the village to an ancient time of hunting and gathering.  He takes solace in his old saying, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (199).  I won’t look at the characters themselves, but the names Steve Adams and Mrs. Graves clearly show powerful symbolism.  Steve Adams represents Adam and Eve, the first people to ever exist and the beginning of humanity, while Mrs. Graves represents death and the end of life.  At the end of the story, they stand together to represent the cycle of life and death.  This cycle also represents the repetition seen throughout history of pointless violence and how it will be repeated long after.           

        The pleasant scene that Jackson begins with amplifies the horrifying ending of the story.  To me, this scene is created more by Jackson’s characters rather than scenery. We see young children seemingly playing, women gossiping, and men speaking of farming matters (194).  Their mannerisms give very little indication about the true purpose of the lottery.  For example, Mrs. Hutchinson (the victim) shows up late and lightly passes it off as forgetfulness.  “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink, now would you, Joe,” are her words that manage to get a small laugh for the crowd (197).  This calm, yet slightly nervous reaction of the crowd still never lets on the ultimate outcome of the lottery.  Even the citizens’ names (Anderson, Clark, Delacroix, Jones, Zanini) give the reader an “everyman” situation (198).  Some are common and others slightly exotic to show that this is not a collection of the exact same people The readers could even ask themselves: how many Johns, Bills, and Bobbies do I know? The combined commonality and normal behavior of the villagers disarms the reader and shows that even the most ordinary people can be capable of the same hyenas acts. 

Jackson succeeds in showing her readers the dangers of following tradition as well as the inhumanities that we all are capable of.  Her use of symbolism and characters create a scenario and is relatable to the reader, yet still terrifying.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Fiction: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R.S. Gwynn. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 2012. 194-202. Print.

Zeleny, Robert O. (Ed.). (1991). The World Book Encyclopedia (1st ed., Vol. 12, p. 477). Chicago: World Book, Inc. Print.