Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay -- The Lottery Essays

The less thither is to scantilyify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, t hold is gathering to throw the annual Lottery. In the end, the townspeoplechildren includedgather around and stone the winner to death, hardly because it was tradition. The storey reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the storys readers with a in writing(p) dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives (capital of Mississippi). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the theme that blindly following traditions is dangerous in her short story The Lottery through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony.Symbolism is used heavily in The Lottery. One of the first symbols revealed in the short story is the opaque Box, used by the townspeople as the raffle boxwood. The grisly box now resting on the stool had been put into use take down to begin with Old Man Warner . . .was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the discolor box (Jackson). The Black Box stands as a symbol for the drawing itself and tradition of all types. Although it may be difficult to upset or change parts of traditions that have been practiced for ages, it is necessary to do so to grow as people. Another symbol in the story is the black box. Although it is old and shabby, the villagers are unwilling or unable to replace it, just as they are unwilling to stop participating in the lottery (Wilson). The... ...n.p., 1986. N. pag. Print.Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010) 1-3. Literary generator Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.The Lottery. lit and Its Times Profiles of 3 00 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them. Joyce Moss and George Wilson. Vol. 4 World War II to the Affluent Fifties (1940-1950s). Detroit Gale, 1997. 235-239. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.The Lottery. picayune Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 1. Detroit Gale, 1997. 139-154. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.Mazzeno, Laurence W. The Lottery. Masterplots II Short Story Series, Revised Edition (2004) 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.Nelles, William. The Lottery. Masterplots II WomenS Literature Series (1995) 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.