Shirley Jackson is the author of various works, one of which is a horror story called “The Lottery”. In the story, the author uses the pathological lottery system to symbolize the problems of traditions in modern society. The narrative has been dramatized several times, subjected to severe sociological and literary analysis, and described as one of the most famous stories in the history of American literature. The story describes a fictional small town in the modern United States, where a ceremony known as a “lottery” is held annually, in which a member of the community is randomly selected. The shocking consequences of choosing a lottery are revealed only at the end. Tradition refers to the annual stoning of a living person to death. Such traditions once took place and may still exist somewhere, but still they should not be morally justified and even the fact that this tradition does not give it the right to exist.
The story reveals the terrible essence of man and shows that by nature, man is indifferent and cold-blooded. The author actively uses dissonant constructions that, in contrast, show the horror of subsequent events (Sustana). People are making small talk, although they know that a brutal murder is about to occur. Children collect stones, and it seems that there is only a game in this, although they will also be participants in a bloodbath. The lottery itself is tense, and people do not look at each other. Mr. Summers and the men drawing the strips of paper are “nervously and humorously grinning at each other” (Jackson para. 12). Such details later show that violence and cruelty are hidden behind all the fun and children’s games.
The lottery process is undoubtedly a collective art of murder for several reasons. People use traditions to cover up their thirst to kill a person. The lottery process begins naturally and even, to some extent, in a secular way. Then the lottery itself begins, which is necessary to choose the victim of this year. A black box is being installed on the square, from which strips of paper with the name of the person who will be killed this year will be taken (Jackson para. 8). From a moral point of view, people should understand that it is wrong to kill a person randomly every year, but they do not want to break traditions. Through the symbolism of the city’s black box and the annual lottery procedure, Jackson makes a very bold and cautious warning about the dangers of blindly following the crowd in cultural rituals.
This terrible ritual cannot be justified morally, and even the fact that it is a tradition does not make it legal. Still, the villagers like to think that they keep traditions, but the truth is that they remember very few details, and the box itself is not the original. That is, people do not even know how this tradition began. The only thing that remains unchanged is the violence, which gives some idea of the villagers’ priorities. Jackson writes: “At one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant…” (para. 7). All residents and even the little son of the woman chosen by the lottery participate in the terrible ritual.
In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” she helps the reader better understand the story by using extensive character symbolization through the characters of Tessie Hutchison, Old Man Warner, Mr. Summers, and Little Davy Hutchison, who help the reader feel more connected to the story. Lottery winner Tessie Hutchison has a lot of meaning and symbolism in her character. Tessie, who was pelted with stones, can be seen as a representation of what happens to a person who is different from others and does not want to conform to the rules of society (Ismael and Ali). Another character that Jackson uses as a significant symbol is Old Man Warner. Warner is one of the worst villagers with his reluctant conviction never to abandon tradition. He urges the villagers to start stoning at the end of the story and criticizes anyone who does not take it seriously.
Summers, as indicated at the beginning of the story, holds an event every year, coordinates it, and prepares everything, including the black box. He can be seen in the eyes as the leader of the entire event (Ismael and Ali). The lottery is essential to everyone in the community but especially important to Summers. He wants to change the style of things to become more modern, which can be seen as a way of conforming to tradition so that it fits better into their current society, which will continue for years to come. Finally, it is good to consider the character of Davy Hutchinson, the son of lottery victim Tessie Hutchinson. Little Davy can be seen as another victim of a terrible tradition. He is too young to understand his actions or understand what is going on, and yet he is still being handed pebbles to throw at his mother. His rocks are not meant to harm Tessie but to make him equally responsible for the consequences that come from stoning a person to death.
Works Cited
Ismael, Zaid Ibrahim, and Ali, Sabah Atallah Khalifa. “Human Rights at Stake: Shirley Jackson’s Social and Political Protest in “The Lottery”. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, vol. 7, no. 6, 2018, pp. 28-36. Web.
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” The New Yorker, 1948, Web.
Sustana, Catherine. “Analysis of ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson.” ThoughtCo, Web.