For over 2 hours the villagers gathered around the town square awaiting the results of the annual lottery. “The Lottery” was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948 and has become one of the best and most controversial American short stories. In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson expressed her opinion on society's resistance to change and how people maintain traditions passed down from generation to generation. Initially in "The Lottery" the author makes it seem like this annual event is a very positive event for the village. The tone in Shirley's writing is very pleasant and inviting especially when she talks about the setting in which it is set. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a high summer day; the flowers bloomed profusely and the grass was richly green.” (Jackson. 1) This style of writing and describing the setting makes the reader very unaware of what will happen at the end of the story. Symbolism was very prevalent throughout the story. When the black box was brought to the square and placed on the three-legged stool, the villagers reacted as if it were a relic. “…the stool was placed in the center of the square and Mr. Summers placed the black box on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between them and the stool” (Jackson.1). The way people reacted to this object made it seem like they were afraid of it or thought it had special powers. The postmaster's name, Mr. Graves, also serves as a symbol in this story, providing some clues as to what happens at the end of the story. The black box represents tradition. "Mr. Summers often spoke to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even that tradition represented by the black bo...... in the center of the card... he killed a family member, a friend , or neighbor who didn't even think about it in the morning, only realized what day it was because he didn't see his family at home I think Shirley Jackson was trying to show that, unfortunately, traditions are sometimes difficult to change unless people personally benefit in some way from such change It was only after being chosen as the winner of the lottery that Tessie began to scream, "It's not fair, it's not fair"(Jackson.8) showed a lot about how difficult it is for many people to walk away from traditions and society's resistance to change. Everyone is accustomed to a certain way of life and people are raised with different social, political and religious beliefs. Bringing change to any society requires a lot of hard work and determination to be able to inform others of the changes that need to be made.
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