THE LOTTERY - Essay Example

The purpose of the lottery is not explicitly stated in the story though a more detailed analysis of the story would reveal that the lottery is done to ensure a good harvest the next year. The villagers believed that they have to sacrifice one of their members to ensure enough rain: thus, a good corn crop next June (Tibbett, par.2). In the beginning of the story, there seems to be a very festive mood. It was a sunny day when the lottery was held. Again, Jackson makes use of irony here. A sunny day implies something happy will happen but readers are again misled into believing so (Cummings, par.11). Community members, the old and the young ones all gather together in the town square.

The reader gets the impression that this is a grand town activity that is being looked forward to every year. All family members need to be present that the reader begins to wonder what is so special about this event. The kids are innocently gathering stones and having the time of their lives. Who would have thought that the stones gathered by the kids would play an important part in the gruesome ending of the story? The black box used in the lottery is full of symbolism. Jackson could have chosen another color to describe the box, but why black?

Black is symbolic of death. It is a premonition of the horrible event that will befall on one of the community members. “The black box grew shabbier each year …” Again, Jackson uses the box to represent the community’s adherence to tradition. The lottery began seventy-seven years ago and it became a tradition passed on to several generations. Though the tradition is outdated, the community did not want to make any changes symbolized by their refusal to change the box no matter how deteriorated it is (Blaylock, 2003).

Although Mr. Summers talk of changing the box every year, no one really took it seriously. Here we can see that Mr. Summers is caught between tradition and the changing times. The readers may perceive him as someone with a weak personality. He represents people who are afraid to break tradition for fear of being criticized and unacceptable to the community members. Since he has no family to be proud of, he values his reputation in the community as shown in his dedication to civic activities. This lottery is of utmost importance to him as it shows his authority over the other members of the town.

The name of Mr. Summers implies something sunny or cheerful but is actually the exact opposite of his being evil, him being the leader in this horrible tradition. Another character in the story which shows how the elderly are reluctant to change is Old Man Warner (Byemonday, 1). He even calls the young as a “pack of crazy fools”. Jackson uses the name “Warner” to depict someone who “warns” others not to change, to stick to tradition (Cummings, par. 12). Aside from the black box, another character which foretells of things to come is the postmaster, Mr. Graves. The name “Graves” shows how Jackson puts importance even in the names of the characters that she uses in her stories.

The postmaster is a person in-charge of delivering mails. Mr. Graves is portrayed as someone who together with Mr. Summers is part of this conspiracy of “delivering” someone to his grave. He is the one who prepares the slips of paper and he also brings the stool where the black box is placed. Another symbolic character in the