Symbolism In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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Shirley Jackson’s fictional short story, “The Lottery,” contains both obvious and hidden symbols leading to the stories collective mentality theme. The stories flat and empty characters appear to the audience as everyday small-town people, but their surnames deserve a second glance. A stool and a box are nothing out of the ordinary, at least not the first time around, and as readers experience Jackson’s shock factor, they will take note of their symbolic nature. Each symbol, abundantly scattered throughout the story, establishes Jackson’s theme of breaking the conformity of outdated traditions by questioning their worthiness instead of blindly following the flock.
Held in June, the lottery is an annual sacrificial ritual where the traditional …show more content…
“The three-legged stool” takes its place “in the center of the square,” where the villagers gather for the lottery, “and Mr. Summers sets the black box down on it.” Examining Jackson’s emphasis on the stool reveals that each of the three legs symbolizes a member of the Holy Trinity, a belief held by many Christians. The townspeople’s keen awareness of the stools supernatural power is evident as they “keep their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool” and they will not approach the stool without hesitation. The stool leads to the next symbolic object, the box itself, representing the towns outdated barbaric traditions. The “black wooden box” is a replacement for “the original paraphernalia for the lottery,” because the original “had been lost long ago,” and even though the timeworn box is a replacement, “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as” the box currently represents because it “had been made with some pieces of the box that had proceeded it” (Jackson 251). The symbolization of the box leading to an outdated ritualistic tradition which holds the fate of the townspeople within it. Together, the stool holding up the box, symbolizing the belief that the Holy Trinity holds the fate to each believer’s life, signifying the importance of the box sitting upon the stool.
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