Symbolism

Symbolism

Introduction

Even though Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” begins with the imagery of blossoming flowers and the richness of green in the grass on the morning of 27th June, it is about anything but the burgeoning life that the imagery suggests. In fact, the story revolves life's stark opposite, around a murdering ritual based on drawing a paper from the lottery box. The chilling revelation that once a person withdraws a marked paper from the lottery he will be ruthlessly murdered by the small town's people, does not surface till the last moments of the story. The pace increases rapidly, implying a sense of urgency throughout the morbid piece of fiction. Symbolism is central to “The Lottery”, and any reader will notice that implied meanings culminate in a gruesome ending. The meaning attached to this gruesome conclusion relies heavily on fully understanding the symbolism in the short story. The lottery, the lottery box, and the execution method: stoning are three dark symbols most relevant to the context in Jackson's short story. Mrs. Hutchinson, the victim of this cruel tradition, may also be an auto-biographical character.

Discussion

The Lottery

The clearest symbol in “The Lottery” is the lottery itself. It symbolizes all barbaric rituals that are left unquestioned and continue down history's timeline. Even though the example is more extreme, surfacing in the form of a murdering ritual, traditions define any dogmatic perception of reality based on the past which is carried onto the present and followed without a rationale. In the story, the narrator describes Mr. Summers and his responsibility in the lottery ritual, saying that Mr. Summers “had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (Jackson, 2008). At this point in the story, the nature of the lottery is still suspended, meaning that readers will establish the lottery as a civic activity, an ...