Symbolism In 'The Lottery And Everyday Use'

Symbolism: “The Lottery” and “Everyday Use” Symbolism is a magnificent thing. It can prep the reader to expect something unique to the story, and sometimes symbolism isn’t even recognized until the reader has completely finished the story. For this critical analysis, I will be looking at the symbolism in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker.
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson In this story, the symbolism begins with the description of the black box. The detailing of the black box shows how old the tradition of the lottery is. The fact that the black box “was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color and in some places faded or stained,” (137) shows that the box is falling apart, that the box has been used over and over again for this one and only tradition that these villagers have; a very old tradition. More symbolism comes from the fact that a part of the lottery’s tradition is fading, eventually, it seems, it will fade
altogether with the younger generation. The lottery, at one point, had wood chips that sat in the box in place of the now, papers that sit there. Not only were the wood chips forgotten, but other aspects of the lottery as well. Things like a “recital of some sort…[that] had been allowed to lapse,” and, moreover, “a ritual salute,” (138). More symbolism from this story comes from the lateness of Mrs.
Hutchinson. She forgot the date and realized a little late, what that date meant. Mrs. Hutchinson’s fate seems to go hand and hand with her lateness. This symbolism feels like a morbid omen for Mrs. Hutchinson. Her lateness makes the reader think about her more than some of the other characters mentioned in this story. Furthermore, when Old Man Warner states that the younger generations adverse views of the lottery will make them want to “go back to living in caves,” (139) shows that Old Man Warner views the lottery as necessary for prosperity. He goes on to mention that there was once a saying, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” (139). This symbolizes the fact that the villagers sacrifice one of their own family members or neighbors in order to gain opulence amongst the village, as if this is the only way that the villagers can survive, without living in a
cave. Lastly, the symbol of the black spot, which presents itself in many other stories, reveals itself to the reader towards the end of the story. The color black symbolizes death and suffering. To have this black spot present itself on a piece of paper warns the reader that death is about to grace the Hutchinson family. Thus, death ended up coming to Mrs. Hutchinson, the woman that was late for the lottery, the woman who pulled out the black spotted paper, and now at the end of the story, the woman that is scarified and stoned to death for the gain of the villagers.
“Everyday Use” In this story, the reader encounters symbolism from the burned home and it shows the sort of life that Mrs. Johnson has lived, as well as, Maggie and Dee. For Dee, the last home burning down was sort of an awakening. She found herself to be too big, in a sense, for the life that she was living at home with her sister and mother. For Maggie, the fire broke her down, maybe more than she was before. She is the introverted opposite of her sister, and she finds her life at home, just merely big enough for her. She doesn’t dream outside of the heritage she already knows like Dee does. When Dee comes to visit, she is wearing a dress with a lot of bright colors with “yellow and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun,” (8). This dress symbolizes who Dee is, the extrovert. Someone who is loud and proud of who they are. Dee then takes out a camera and snaps pictures of her family and her former home, this symbolizes that Dee is proud to be who she is, however, she lets her mother know that she has changed her name and she no longer wants to be called Dee even though the name is a family name, she shows that she has no relation to it, which is a contradiction to everything else in this story. Dee then goes inside with her family and starts to show her further fascination and proudness by asking for things that symbolize her heritage ad family, yet she remains behind the name change. She is always used to getting what she wants so much so that Dee barley feels obligated to ask before she takes it upon herself to take her family’s things. This leads to the symbolic meaning of the quilts, being that they are family heirlooms in a way, made by the hands of Mrs. Johnson’s sister and with her mother’s dress scrapes, it shows the family history and closeness of the family up until Dee. Dee wants to represent these quilts as art and they were formerly promised to Maggie. Mrs. Johnson does not allow Dee to have them and gives them to Maggie, this is symbolizing taking a stand for her family and making sure that her daughter, Maggie, is given a vote of confidence she has never encountered before. Throughout both of these stories, symbolism has played a tremendous role in shaping characters and the experiences that these characters have had. Symbolism plays enormous roles in both of these works, in subtle and obvious ways.

Works Cited
Roberts, Edgar V., and Robert Zweig. "Everyday Use." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 6-12. Print.

Roberts, Edgar V., and Robert Zweig. "The Lottery." Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Longman, 2012. 136-41. Print.