Analysis of the Lottery

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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is rich with symbolism relating to the theme of the story. One of these symbols is the black box. The black box is the box that the townspeople draw from in “The Lottery”. It is a crucial part of the ritual and by analyzing it, a thing or two can be learnt about the theme of the effects of mob psychology and the dangers of tradition in the story. The primary purpose of the black box is to hold the pieces of paper. Therefore, the black box holds the destiny of one person. It nearly literally holds one person’s life in its “hands”. The color black also represents death in literature. Everyone in the town tries to avoid the black box. No one wants to house it until the next lottery or even help move it. The black box remained in obscure places like the post office because no one wants to house “death”; no one wanted to be plagued by the constant fear that came along with the box. The evil contained in the box kept the people submissive to Mr. Summer’s and Mr. Grave’s power. Throughout the years the same black box was used each and every time, as far as anyone in the town could remember. Every time the lottery take place someone talks about getting rid of the black box, but “every year the subject was allowed to fade off”. The box was even rumored to be made with some pieces of the first box by the first people. The black box had become just as important as the lottery itself and played the central role in a timeless tradition. However, “the black box grew shabbier each year” and started to deteriorate. The shabby black box can also symbolize corrupted and out dated tradition. If tradition is not constantly re-evaluated, the results can be scary, even fatal. All in all, the black box represents an evil tradition that needs to change. The combination of tradition and fear is keeping the black box and the lottery alive. The
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