Symbols in The Lottery

Symbols in “The Lottery” "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a short story written after World War II. It explores the ideas of brutality in the community and the dangers of blindly following tradition. The end of the story turns into a horror story where the villagers stone the lottery's winner to portray notable symbols to enhance its themes. "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson uses the black box, the stones, and names as a way to convey a solemn message of human nature. The black box represents the practice of the lottery and the settlers' reluctance to replace it. For example, they "don't want to 'upset tradition' by doing so" (Jackson 264). The box is a reminder for the inhabitants to maintain the lottery as their ancestors did previously. It also implies how they are too involved with the custom and no longer acknowledges the lottery's cruelty and savagery. In addition, the citizens "had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use the stones" (Jackson 271). The box is an artifact showing how the villagers became entranced in stoning people and the community's refusal to progress into an enlightened age. Jackson uses the black box to emphasize the inhumane way of mechanically carrying out the ceremonies. The stones embody violence as "ominously, Bobby Martin has already stuffed his pockets with stones and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix follow his example, eventually making a great pile of stones" for accuracy and precision (Nebeker 100). Repeatedly, the rocks have killed those chosen by the lottery. To illustrate, "The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar" (Jackson 271). The pebbles also reflect the villagers' social background, who are excited about the violence, and they do not stop even though they have forgotten the original rites of the lottery. In the end, the stones became a significant figure to denote death and violence. Names in "The Lottery" indicate how the characters contrast with their names. For example, the name Summers usually means something good as it "symbolizes life, new seasons, fertility, but Mr. Summers in the story takes it away" (Rehim 34). In the story, Mr. Summers leads events making him think he is a good man; however, he continues the lottery process. He works in the coal mines, which suggests his life will lead towards his downfall as the color black represents death. Furthermore, the family name of Hutchinson represents the name of a writer. Writers are known to be "rebellious and revolutionary," which was the reason "Mrs. Hutchinson rebelled and screamed when she figures out that her husband is the one picked to be sacrificed" (Reim 35). In this story, those who deviate from social norms are the writers; therefore, they must be repressed, stopped, and silenced. Although writers have a higher level of education, talent, and equal status, they endure repression in every other way. The symbolism of the black box, the stones, and names address the truth of human blindness and violent tendencies. Jackson used symbolism as a way to connect the readers with their cruel realities. The primary symbol, the black box, was used as a representation of death as the story ended with the anticipated death of one of the villagers. As a rejection towards advancement, the stones serve as a primitive method of murder. The characters' names demonstrate how their personalities and actions are juxtaposed with the meaning of their names.