In “The Lottery” By Shirley Jackson, there are many examples of symbolism within the story. The theme of this short story is tradition, and the examples of symbolism are created around the traditions that take place in this seemingly “perfect” town.
The lottery cards which are used to determine who gets stoned, represent hypocrisy, equality, and impurity. First, the character Tessie Hutchinson gets chosen to be stoned and she says, ”It isn’t fair.” And her mother also replied, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right.” (Jackson, 1948) This symbolizes hypocrisy because this tradition of stoning people has gone on for years in this town, and no one ever has a problem with it until it involves themselves or a loved one.