A Value for the Strength of Symbolism in Fiction

 Introduction

Having read short stories by the thousands, there is one that always leaves me stunned, and that is the use of symbols by authors in trying to pass on hidden messages. Through symbolism, an ordinary tale turns into a forceful social commentary on society, man, or even war. Symbolism is also of the highest importance to Shirley Jackson’s evergreen short story, The Lottery, because it is used to symbolize themes of tradition, sacrifice, and conformity. By close reading between Jackson’s symbols of lines, we may gain a greater understanding of her denunciation of cultural trends. Why Symbolism Matters in Short Stories

 

• Literary symbolism is employed to link the theme to the story. Symbolism is one of the ways in which authors introduce ideas indirectly, allowing the reader an opportunity to make a deep sense of the book. Jackson’s The Lottery is a classic example of how symbolism is employed to develop a strong message.

The Setting: Village Symbolism

• The humble setting of The Lottery is the antithesis of the terrible thing that occurs, something which in itself has been able to tell us that normalcy hides evil realities about society. Jackson leads us through a picturesque small town where there is a annual lottery. The village setting appears idyllic, even retro, at first but peace is shattered when the reality about the lottery is revealed.

The Town Square: A Ritual Space

• Town square, center of activity, is the very embodiment itself of the strength of tradition. It is there that villagers meet annually to gather with each other for the lottery, a ritual they accept which is part of their heritage and something they do not question. The square is the very embodiment itself of normalcy which engulfs abusive practices simply because society keeps on functioning on harmful traditions simply because always things were being done in this manner. They do persist and thus are validated.

The Black Box: The Tradition Itself

• The black box where the lottery takes place is most symbolically the object in the story.
• Splintered, creaked, and torn, it symbolizes deconstruction of maintained tradition. But in dilapidated form as it is, all of them presume not to substitute, to question, the box, an interesting representation of societal reluctance to question entrenched practices. The box is material icon of tradition devised initially out in possibility of being, lost now in this era of pragmatics and logic. 

The ticket held by one of all villagers represents fate and random sacrifice. A nonselective multitude stretches out its hand blindly into a black box with perfect knowledge that anyone of them is selected to endure a dreadful death. This is arbitrariness in human planning which subjects human being to offices and unmanageable decisions.

The Lottery Ticket-Draw Ceremony and Ominous Fear and Suspense Leading Up to It
The lottery ticket-drawing ceremony and ominous fear and suspense leading up to it symbolize the individual’s fight against society’s conventions. Regardless of how much the villagers do not want the fatal destiny, they are repressed by society’s norms for the lottery — a ritual symbolizing the individual’s fight against social conformity.

The Stoning: Symbolism of Violence and Blind Conformity

• The most satirical of all is the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson, the final and foreboding omen that Jackson uses to represent the injustices of conformity.

The stoning, in which the villagers lash back in a mass as one upon an isolated figure, is a corrosive denunciation of society’s readiness to act so quickly to justify violence if it is veiled in the trappings of tradition.

• In a way, the stoning is the culmination of ritualized violence — a violence legitimized by society.
• Villagers’ capacity and willingness to stone Tessie Hutchinson, even individuals in her close circles like her immediate family, is only a sign of the strength of social conformity.

Society’s willingness to kill a human being in an effort to preserve the status quo is the final proof of how willing the world is to acclimatize to cruelty once it has been perpetrated as part of societal rituals. The community’s approach to tradition The fact that the entire village participates in stoning demonstrates to what level society conspires to preserve oppressive systems. The villagers’ collective action keeps alive a vicious circle of violence and generates collective identity even amidst loss of humanness. Collective action is provided as a metaphor for dangers of mindless following of convention, and the costly sacrifice of the collective identity in violence and marginalization. The Theme of Sacrifice: Symbolic Representation of Society

Sacrifice is the theme most evident in The Lottery. Jackson’s symbolism is a hideous allegory of the way that societies constantly require individual sacrifice of the individual for the “greater good” or for upholding social order. The narrative causes us to wonder how often we, ourselves, are active participants in rituals or traditions without ever questioning the goodness or merits of said deeds.
The Villagers’ Lack of Sensitivity to the Sacrifice

It is the villagers’ lack of concern over the brutality of the lottery’s outcome that disturbs me the most. The routine of the stoning, and the fact that it is regarded as a part of their lives, tells us of the perils of undisciplined tradition. Jackson is symbolically asking here if we, too, are blind to systems of oppression in our own midst.

The Ending: A Personal Reflection on the Power of Symbolism

Having read the ending of The Lottery, the shock and disgust that its murder of Tessie elicits is not so much a condemnation of hillbilly-tradition as a criticism. It is rather an appeal to examine the traditions which we ourselves observe at the cost they do. Jackson’s symbolism raises the seemingly superficial story to one of commentary on human nature, social ritual, and evil potential of blind conformity.
Relevance to Contemporary Society

• Even though it started in writing decades back in 1948, The Lottery remains as topical today in how it deals with violence, conformity, and sacrifice. Symbols used by Jackson are not only specific to the time when the story is being told but rather transcend our own society, inviting us to examine into in our own social practice and tradition that presides over our own life.

Conclusion: Unpacking Layers of Symbolism

• The genius of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is how it uses symbolism to shock us with queasy and uneasy ideas about human nature and society.
• Jackson shocks us with such unpleasant realities about our attachment to tradition and the latent cruelty of society for the sake of social hierarchy through their presentation as symbols.

From the narrative itself, the most that comes to me and leaps to mind is defiance of hierarchies that oppress us, and fear of mindless conformity. Symbolism, as properly appreciated by Jackson, can make us restless and shock us with stubborn self-doubt.