Symbolism

Symbolism on Shirley Jackson 's The Lottery

Shirley Jackson has probably written one of the best short stories in American literature history . The Lottery has gained popularity throughout the world when it was published in The New Yorker in 1948 . It received negative criticisms , not for the style of writing , but due to its horrifying storyline . The society then was not yet conscious of too much violence , be it real or just in stories

The Lottery revolves around a small town in America , with an approximate population of three hundred people . The

setting of the story is in the center of the village , where the much-awaited annual event called lottery , takes place . The reader is acquainted with the usual environment every time the lottery happens . However , the nature of lottery is revealed only near the end of the story - that the prize is getting the chance to be stoned by the villagers , even including your own children

The names of the characters suggest another meaning aside from its usage as means of identification for a particular villager . The name of Tessie could be derived from testy that means irritable . This is apparent from her reaction of continuous yelling of It wasn 't fair ' when her family got the prize ' in the lottery because she believed her husband did not get enough time to choose . Her name is also a diminutive of Theresa , which means one who reaps (Landau , a direct translation of the events that happened at the end of the story in which she reaped all the stones from the villagers for being the winner ' of the lottery

The names of the three boys at the beginning of the story were all reflections of what they were doing or actions . Bobby , from the more popular Robert , means bright fame . Harry is a variety of Henry (home ruler , and also a diminutive of Harold (chief of the army . Dickie is derived from Richard , which means strong king , and his surname Delacroix means of the cross (Landau . All their names justified their action in the story being the kings ' and high-ranking warriors ' who guard the pile of stones they made against the raiding of the other boys

Mr Summers could represent the time of the year - that is , summer - when most of the activities in any village happen . This could be likened to the outgoing personality of the man himself who had time and energy for any festivities in the village . The term summer connotes the prevalence of the sun or heat , which is connected to the production and usage of coal , the major item in the business of Mr Summers . His name Joe is a diminutive of Joseph that means God shall give , which seems to adhere to his role in the lottery as the one who holds the box , and acts as God who gives ' permission for the death of one of the villagers by announcing the name of the winner ' and signaling the start of the stoning in his statement Let 's finish this quickly

The name of Mr Graves is a representation of the end of journey of everyone who participates in the lottery , keeping true to his name by helping Mr Summers in the making of the slips of s to be drawn

Mr Martin has the name equivalent to of Mars (Landau , which goes down to being red as with the planet , and also blood . This is true to his action of holding the box when Mr Summers was stirring the s inside the box . His name is also connected to Steve Adams , which means crown of the man on the red earth . Mr Adams seems to like also the idea of the lottery since he was standing in the front of the crowd of villagers with Mrs . Graves beside him , getting ready to stone the winner

Warner , the oldest villager , has his name connected to being the one who warns the village from bad things . His thought against the giving up of the lottery is obvious from his statements , Pack of crazy fools Listening to the young folks , nothing 's good enough for them ' His seventy-seven years in the lottery could have provided him enough courage of not drawing the dotted . His shared prophecies of Lottery in June , corn be heavy soon ' speaks of his position in the village as a respected elder , a class he shared with the elders of ancient villages , wherein they were the source of wisdom and pieces of advice for communal concerns and issues like war and marriage

The name Jack means successor . This is a direct translation of the role of the boy in the story in which he succeeded as the head of the Watson family after his father 's death . The name Clyde could be equated with Claude , which means lame . This also shows his state during that particular lottery - he had a broken leg (Landau

It seems that the author built her characters in association with their names to provide a double emphasis on the importance of that character in her story . It might have been that the characterization came first and then she thought of their names afterwards . The connection of the role and the name of the character provided excitement and enthusiasm for the readers to go on with reading the story

The black box also represents some things other than its primary purpose in the lottery . She could have colored it brown or green or any other color , but she made it black to relay the message that the event was actually evil . The shabby condition of the box also represents the tradition slowly fading in practice but there was still the continuous willingness of the villager with regards to the lottery . This is shown in the failure of the villagers to change the box because it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side , and in some places faded or stained

It had a black spot on it . Mr . Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office . All the important works were done by Mr Summers - the marking of the black spot , and providing the location for the marking . This reflects that the demon god ' was in the coal company office , and nobody works in there but Mr Summers

The village operated with amenities from a capitalist society - bank post office , coal business , grocery store , school , and residences (Kosenko . The highest status in the village belonged to Mr Summers who owns the coal business , Mr Graves who is the postmaster , and Mr Martin who owns the grocery store . They were the ones also who did the first-hand jobs for the event , that is , the preparation of the slips of to be drawn , the handling of the box during the lottery proper and the announcement of the winner

Their god-like actions were also justified with their direct management of the determinants of the future of the society - coal business , post office , and the grocery store . Their participation in the lottery is just part of their deception to the villagers . They wanted them to think that they are just like them , especially Mr Summers , having to work hard throughout the year to have zero chance of being drawn in the lottery The village believed that by working so hard , they would get immunity from the lottery

The statement .guess we better get started , get this over with , so we can go back to work ' of Mr Summers does not really speak of a statement coming from a gentleman . It was only a fazade of his real intentions in his mind . He was thinking for the villagers to go back to what they were doing in his coal business , work hard , and might be not to bother themselves with the salary they were receiving as they were adhered to the principles of the lottery . Moreover , the statement is more of the command type , rather than a polite request . This further proves the god-like ' attitude of the man

The village is also patriarchal in its nature since the women came only after their menfolk . This means that the men gathered first , and no women went before them . It seems also that men got all the privileges and the good things in life , which is apparent from their conversations about planting and rain , tractors and taxes . The women were just plain housewives , and not teachers or or no profession for that matter

Here comes your Missus , Hutchinson ' proved also that they were living in a society dominated by men . Tessie was not recognized as an individual but being an ' wife of Bill . She might not have been recognized if she was not married and living all by herself

Its men-first system is also evident from the angle of the Watsons . Jack drew for the family , instead of his mother , in place for his dead father . This is also true for the Dunbars . Janey could have not been allowed to draw for his husband Clyde if their son , Horace , was already at the right age that time

The most important message of the story could be to teach men about reality . It could be that the author has desired to tell the world not to go into something if it could not stand or bear the consequences This might be her way to stand firmly on our decisions , that we should continue on and finish what we have started

This philosophy was shown with how Mrs Hutchinson reacted when she got the with the black dot . When the drawing of the s was not yet started , she was smiling and greeting all the people in the area . She was even joking with the god ' Mr Summers . She did even push her husband to go up into the location of the black box and get s for them . However , when Bill got the with the black dot , she commenced on shouting that It wasn 't fair ' to Mr Summers . This is a reflection of how she advocated for the evilness of the ritual at first , but eventually tearing it down when it became personal

The statement It wasn 't right ' of Mrs Hutchinson could be her realization at the end that it really is not fair and not right to kill a person that easily and in that manner . This is true since God has the only power to do it . However , in this case , the powerful and wealthy individuals in the village served as gods , who have the authority ' to tell who should die . It could also be for the fact that someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles . She was protesting for her own child to stone her

Being one of the most widely-banned stories , The Lottery is often the subject of literary discussions and debates , including studies related to symbolism . Containing many symbolized objects and events , it has attracted many people to see its deeper meaning , which continuously mystified people from all walks of life

Reference

Jackson , S . 2005 . The Lottery . HYPERLINK "http /www .bnl .com " B L Associates , Tempe , Arizona , U .S .A . Retrieved 04 July 2007 http /www .classicshorts .com /stories /lotry .html

Kosenko ,

. 1984 . A Reading of Shirley Jackson 's The Lottery . Retrieved 04 July 2007 . http /www .netwood .net kosenko /jackson .html

Landau , SI . 1997 . Given Names . Webster 's Concise Dictionary of the English Language . USA : Trident Press International

Nebeker , HE . 1974 . The Lottery : Symbolic Tour de Force ' American Literature 46 (1 :100-107

SYMBOLISM ON SHIRLEY JACKSON 'S THE LOTTERY

PAGE \ MERGEFORMAT 1 ...