The Lottery
By: Shirley Jackson
In "The Lottery," the lottery acts as a symbol within itself of the faulty aspects of traditions that are simply followed and accepted without true understanding. The lottery, unlike modern lotteries where the reward is unimaginable wealth, being drawn as the winner of the lottery is a dreaded victory of death. The lottery is an unaging tradition in which a citizen is blindly persecuted. Although no one within the town understands the purpose of the lottery, it is followed simply because it is a tradition. Within the symbol of the lottery is another symbol, the black box. The fragile and aged box represents the lottery's past which has made tradition. It represents the flaws in following the tradition as parts of the practice have been changed yet the box remains the an intricate part of the tradition simply because of its quality. Thus, through the symbols of the box and lottery itself, the implications of traditions and death are presented.
"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered the stones (Page 271)." "The Lottery" is both a tragic and futuristic story that addresses the faulty aspects of traditions such as persecution. In Shirley Jackson's short story, this theme is presented through the use of symbols.
In "The Lottery," the lottery acts as a symbol within itself of the faulty aspects of traditions that are simply followed and accepted without true understanding. The lottery, unlike modern lotteries where the reward is unimaginable wealth, being drawn as the winner of the lottery is a dreaded victory of death. The lottery is an unaging tradition in which a citizen is blindly persecuted. Although no one within the town understands the purpose of the lottery, it is followed simply because it is a tradition. Within the symbol of the lottery is another symbol, the black box. The fragile and aged box represents the lottery's past which has made tradition. It represents the flaws in following the tradition as parts of the practice have been changed yet the box remains the an intricate part of the tradition simply because of its quality. Thus, through the symbols of the box and lottery itself, the implications of traditions and death are presented. 
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