THE LOTTERY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE LOTTERY - Essay ExampleThe purpose of the drawing is not explicitly verbalise in the story though a more detailed analysis of the story would reveal that the lottery is d whiz to keep in line 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, at that place seems to be a very festive mood. It was a sprightly day when the lottery was held. Again, capital of Mississippi makes lend oneself of irony here. A sunny day implies something happy will happen but readers are over again misled into believing so (Cummings, par.11). Community members, the old and the young ones all gather together in the township square. The reader gets the impression that this is a grand town activity that is being looked forward to every year. each(prenominal) family members need to be present that the reader begins to wonder what is so special abo ut 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 obscure box used in the lottery is full of symbolism. Jackson could have chosen another color to describe the box, but why black? Black is exemplary of death. It is a premonition of the horrible event that will befall on one of the participation members. The black box grew shabbier each year Again, Jackson uses the box to represent the communitys 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 Though the tradition is outdated, the community did not want to make any changes symbolized by their refusal to change the box no matter how deteriorated it is (Blaylock, 2003).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 tattle of changing the box every year, no one really took it seriously. Here we can see that Mr. Summers is caught in the midst of tradition and the changing times. The readers may perceive him as someone with a weak psycheality. He represents mint 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 inscription to civic activities. This lottery is of utmost importance to him as it shows his authority over the other members of the town. The trope 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 experienced 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 c haracter which foretells of things to come after 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