The Lottery3

A detailed Summary of The Lottery3

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In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to make us aware of the pointless nature of

humanity regarding tradition and violence. The story starts off on a beautiful summer day in a small

town. The author describes the day as very euphoric but strikes a contrast between the atmosphere

of the town and the atmosphere of the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is subdued,

where the children are "gathered around quietly."

The black box is the central theme or idea in the story. It symbolizes at first some type of mystery,

but as we read the ending we realize that it is synonymous with doom. Someone's fate lies in an

lottery; she pleads for another chance and screams for mercy. She demands that her daughters take

"rational" adults in stoning a mother to death. It appears that tradition has blinded these people in an

ladies and even encouraged her husband to go and pick a piece of paper. When Tessie wins the

can be taken but is also symbolic of vast civilizations that were doomed to eventual failure for

The lottery itself is symbolic of the paradox of the human psyche between compassion on one hand

When forced with the possibility of death, human nature in all its complexity, comes down to one

Some common words found in the essay are:
Shirley Jackson, God Tessie, black box, Symbolism Essay,

Approximate Word count = 506
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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