Symbolism in Jackson’s the Lottery
Essay title: Symbolism in Jackson’s the Lottery
Symbolism in Jackson’s “The Lottery”
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, raises many questions in the back of a reader’s mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. “The Lottery” clearly expresses Jackson’s feelings concerning mankind’s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of the short story with the use of symbols and setting. The setting of “The Lottery” supports the theme. Settings are constructed to help build the mood and foreshadow things to come. In the lottery though, the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come.
The story begins with a description of a seemingly cheerful environment. Jackson creates a comfortable atmosphere by describing the activities of the residents of the town. She describes children breaking into “boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands” (Jackson 118). Men and women are gathered in the center of the town talking about farming and taxes or into gossip. The story begins on the clear and sunny morning of June 27th, “with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 118). Jackson’s description of the setting supports the theme of the story by showing how mankind is capable of cruel acts regardless of their environment.
Symbolism in the story also supports the theme of “The Lottery”. The very names of the characters in the story are laden with meaning. The names of Summers, Graves, Warner, Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the true nature of the characters. Mrs. Delacroix’s name means of the cross in Latin; therefore hinting at Tessie’s sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs. Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs. Hutchinson it is she who is shown to pick up the largest rock and promotes other people to stone Tessie. Mr. Summers’ name symbolizes life but in reality it is he who is in charge of the lottery, which instead of giving life to its winner, gives death. Graves is the man who carries in the black box and the three-legged stool. His name hints to what will happen to Tessie Hutchinson. It is also from Mr. Graves whom the citizens get the papers from, therefore it is almost like he is the one who has the most influence over whose grave it will be next. Old Man Warner, as his name indicates, warns the villagers of the unknown danger of stopping the yearly ritual. The irony here is that even though the old are know for being wise, Old Man Warner seems to be a very ignorant and superstitious who blindly follows tradition. The names of all the prominent characters in “The Lottery” support the idea that everybody hides their evil nature by way of hypocrisy. Tessie Hutchinson’s character also provides considerable information on the theme of the story. Her name reminds one of the historical Anne Hutchinson not only because of the name but also because of the small town setting. Anne Hutchinson was a willing martyr who died for her religion and was exiled from her town. Tessie Hutchinson though may at first of the story appear to be a very good-natured and good human being by the way she comes in to the story. She comes in jokingly kidding with a friend of hers about how she almost forgot about the lottery but as soon as she remembered came running. Tessie seems to be a willing participant at the start but when her family’s mane is drawn she shows her true nature. Instead