Over time people have adopted different kinds of customs and ideas. In “The Lottery” people in the community sacrifice themselves so that their crops grow. Many lives are at risk and are afraid despite the acceptance of their actions. Symbolism is something that represents ideas or qualities of an object. An example of this would be a dove representing peace. In the short story The Lottery, it is set in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The whole story is a contradiction because you would think that having a lottery would be a good thing, but in this story that is not the case. Every year Mr. Graves, who has the most power in the community, brings them together to organize or hold a raffle. As he calls each man's name to make sure he is there, they must take a piece of paper from the "black box" and keep it closed until each man or boy has chosen one. Once everyone has taken one, they open it and whoever has the card with a black dot symbolizing a stone takes his family and within the family they choose again and this time whoever has the black dot is stoned to death. They believe in sacrificing crops, which means that every year they sacrifice one person because it will help their crops grow. They use the saying "The June lottery will be heavy soon." This means they are sacrificed in June and over the months the corn will grow. Symbolism plays an important role in Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery,” explaining and emphasizing people's ideas and beliefs. They believe that sacrificing a person will make his crops grow. All the characters in the story symbolize something. Mr. Summers symbolizes growth and life, meaning “summer is the season of the year. The summer of growth, the season of life.” Show......middle of paper......ight Hub Education. Brightinc., January 5, 2012., web. March 17, 2014 Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”. Heritage of American literature. Ed.James E.Miller. Vol2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1991.1864.print.Ma, Martine. "Literary Analysis Essay: 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson." Word press.NP, 10 June 2013. Web.17 March 2014Pirate Teacher and Lentz. “What are the symbols in Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'. “Enotes.enotes inc, inc. November 10, 2011 and September 19, 2012. Web. March 17, 2014 Scheelat, Lucas. "Symbolism in Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'." Reading reaction. NP., January 26, 2009. Web. March 17, 2014 Shmoop editors. “Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory: The Black Bpx and The Three Legged Stool.” Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., ND web.March 17, 2014Sparknotes Editors. “'The Lottery'” Themes, Motifs and Symbols.” Sparknote, Ban, ND Web. March 17 2014
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