"The Lottery" is a short story by Shirley Jackson; it describes a small town which observes an annual ritual known as "the lottery." The story begins with a gathering of villagers for the town lottery. Mr. Summers, a character in the story, runs the lottery using a black box. Other characters in the story include Mr. Graves, who is the postmaster and Old Man Warner. The black box is shabby, but no one wants to replace it because of traditions. But summers enabled to convince villagers to replace the old chips with slips of player for drawing. The old traditions of saluting and singing for the drawer no longer apply. The lottery is no longer well attended as so many people are missing out on this age-old tradition. The lottery is hit with allegations of unfairness from one of the participants who is massively humiliated.
Symbols in the story
There are various symbols which are used in this story. The first symbol is the black box which represents the lack of logic on the part of the villagers and the tradition of the lottery. It is featured in the story as the primary object in which the lottery must take place. The other symbol is the use of stones and family lists in carrying out the lottery. The final symbol is the lottery itself which is a tradition that is held annually in this small village.
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Significance of the symbols
The importance of the black box shows the unwillingness of the villagers to replace it despite its shabby look and deteriorating condition. The use of family lists and stones in the lottery signify that the villagers cannot purport to follow traditions by being loyal to the black box while at the same time ignoring other traditions and relics. It amounts to no logic for the villagers to hold the lottery in the first place. The lottery itself signifies the extreme example of what can happen when traditions are put to question.
What the objects symbolize
The story gives the impression that the belief in the black box is falling apart given the protestations and lack of adequate attendance by the villagers to this important event. There are also other aspects of the lottery which are also symbolic. The creation of family lists and the use of stones has been an age-old tradition in this small town that no one wishes to renounce. However, other lottery traditions have been forgotten or just ignored. The traditions set out that the lottery must be held using chips of wood, but this is no longer the case. The villagers are now using slips of paper to carry out the lottery. The lottery is also another symbol used in the story. It represents a form of behavior, action or idea that is passed down from one generation to another. This tradition is supposed to be followed without question despite it be unreasonable or bizarre. It is an annual event that has taken place since time immemorial and has become the culture in the small town. It shows that this tradition makes everyone a murderer every year owing to what happened to the participant that rejected the lottery’s decisions.
The purpose of the symbol
The author uses the symbol of the black box to show how the traditions of the village are fast deteriorating. He has used the examples of the family lists and stones to show that people no longer respect age-old traditions and that the effects of change are fast influencing this small community. He has used the lottery to show that traditions can sometimes be illogical and bizarre and only occur for the sake of it but not to serve any particular purpose.
