Meaning Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Essay

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“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about a lottery taking place in a small village where the winner is stoned. Every year, the lottery takes place and someone is random selected to be stoned to death in order to ensure a great harvest. The tradition has been in place for more than eighty years. Through symbolism, Jackson uses the names, objects, and the setting itself to conceal the actual meaning and objective of the event. The names of many of the characters in this story have special meanings to the lottery. For example, the name Delacroix (par. 2) means “of the Cross” in French. The fact that “the villagers pronounced this name Dellacroy” (2) could be taken as a provocation of the Cross and of Christian Martyrdom. Similarly,…show more content…
Jackson draws a picture of a village where “flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (1), and she tells us that the story is taking place in the town square, between the post office and bank. She even gives specifics about the town, such as, how many people live there and even how long the lottery takes. She firmly grounds the story in reality, so that when people read the story, they are not just reading the story, but are inside and living the story. This makes it much easier to fulfill the Jackson’s desire. Jackson wants her readers to be perceive the village as normal and virtuous in the beginning, but end with a horrifying conclusion of a heinous stoning. Many of the readers of this story were likely appalled by this story, their belief that the story may be fiction, prevents them from seeing the religious persecution and perversion that happens all over the world. The outcome is that many were likely unable to accept the truth. The use of symbolism in “The Lottery” is completely unmistakable. The author obliquely reveals the true meaning of the lottery in the names, objects, and setting. The story brings one
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