The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Literary Analysis

“ The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, shows the corruption in a village whose people treat life with insignificance. Through the use of literary devices, Jackson portrays how practices in traditions can be barbaric;ultimately, resulting in persecution.

In the plot, Jackson foreshadows the horror which is due to come. The children are taught from a young age about the process which takes place for the death of a person, they prepare for this event by collecting “a great pile of stones” which is used later on in the persecution of Mrs. Hutchinson (1 Jackson). This illustrates that children have been indoctrinated to think that the death of a human is unimportant, and considered normal. They look at this event as a game instead of a serious
Summers, who everyone follows, takes control of the lottery. By his actions he comes across as being insensitive: “guess we better get started, get this over with, so we can go back to work” (3). By Mr. Summers indicating that he is in a hurry shows his apathetic personality. He is inconsiderate about people’s emotions, thoughts and the life that will be lost. Furthermore, this also suggests that he is customary to the routine that takes place and he’s unfazed by the persecution. During the ceremony each family member is involved; unfortunately, members of the family, such as Bill Hutchinson, turn on each other as he “went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out her hand” (6). Bill Hutchinson has a less chance of getting persecuted; resulting, in his wife getting persecuted instead. This portrays the self-centeredness that an individual has to prevent them getting persecuted, and would rather see his loved one get killed which shows how easily families can fall apart due to the event. Mrs. Delacroix, who was friends with Mrs. Hutchinson, turned her back on Mrs. Hutchinson when she was about to be persecuted: “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” (7). For Mrs. Delacroix to pick the largest stone portrays how devious she is, because she had a choice to throw a lighter stone; however, this could be seen as Mrs. Delacroix choosing the largest stone to get the persecution over and done within a quicker time. The
The tradition of the lottery has been occurring for a period of time: “The lottery was conducted”(1). Jackson illustrates in the short story that this is a familiar tradition known in the village. The irony of the lottery symbol indicates how it is meant to be seen as a good thing; however, in this case, it is looked upon as an unacceptable tradition. The tradition is “represented by the black box” (1). This implies that the black box is a symbol of death and an outdated tradition; therefore, showing how the people in the village rely on the black box which determines who gets prosecuted. Jackson presents Mr.Grave as the bringer of death: “Mr. Graves nodded and held up the slips of paper”(5). The name Mr.Graves hints that there will be a death due to come. The symbols represent the tradition of the lottery;ultimately, creating fear amongst the