The Lottery Shirley Jackson Analysis

Thus, almost all elements in the story represent the idea to be explored by the author. This exploration of symbols creates an interesting aspect of the story. In addition, it makes the story challenging since the author does not offer all the answers. With this, the author is forced to dig deeper while looking for the answers to get the meaning of the story. Thus, among the interesting parts about “The Lottery" story is the simple ability to understand what is meant by the symbols. According to the villagers, in “Mr. Summers suggests that a new box be made but this upsets the villagers because tradition is involved here” (Shields 417), it is not possible to change or forget the aspects of the lottery, which is held annually.

The black box is old and worn out and clearly outdated, which is why Mr. Summers, the most powerful man in town, makes the suggestion after every lottery to create a new box (Jackson 5). Because of the constant use of the black box, it becomes more worn and requires a replacement after each use. For example, one of the town folks who is picked for the lottery is Mrs. Hutchinson. Thus, since her name means box and the black box has the symbolic meaning of death, Mrs. Hutchinson is marked for death from the beginning of the story. It is due to her participation in the lottery that her life is turned around, “It’s Tessie, Mr. However, this is different in the story, where winning the lottery is not a desirable component for the town folks.

Thus, playing the lottery develops certain twists in the story. Instead of the luck associated with the lottery it represents trouble as the winner is given death. It is this that forms the proper correlations between elements in the story to illustrate the need for change, both in the story’s town and in general. In this story, ‘the lottery’ initially represents an innocent curiosity. It is beaten as it has been involved in decades of lotteries. It is considered a way of life to the villagers since it forms an important part of the traditions which they have valued for a long time. In this case, it acts as one of the traditional symbols based on the fact that it has been so important to the town folks for so long.