Shirley Jackson was an author in the 20th century known for writing stories that explored the twisted events of everyday life in society. In her well-known short story, "The Lottery", she explores the incongruities by giving the story a theme so uncivilized that it compares and contrasts between her parallel universe and actual society. For this reason, many of the readers of the story were confused and appalled by the overall concept of what the theme of "The Lottery" was trying to portray. The unique parallelism used to compare and contrast her parallel universe and actual reality received many negative responses from critics and even friends. Finally after many encounters with negative responses in letters asking for an explanation or theme, Jackson published in the San Francisco Chronicles (July 22, 1948) saying that the point of her story was "to shock readers with graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives" (Friedman 191).Throughout her short story, "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses symbolism, setting, and point of view as literary elements to convey the overall theme.
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Jackson's "The Lottery" takes place in the summer in a small village. The exact date of the lottery is June 27, but the year is not ever specified. By using key clues within the story, such as a population of three hundred and a farming village, it can probably be concluded that all signs "seem to point to New England as the locale of the story" (Yarmove 234). If this is the case, New England colonists were known for their strong beliefs in their religions and for being willing to do anything to protect their customs from outsiders. The setting of the story probably helps explain why the sacrificial ritual is happening. In the summer droughts occur, and especially if the village is located in New England, then their soil is not fertile without the enrichment of the rain. The villagers in "The Lottery" probably are sacrificing someone to become their scapegoat so that in return the village can prosper. There is a saying in the town, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," supporting this accusation (Jackson 143). The plot of "The Lottery" has a sense of uneasiness to it, because as the story goes on things become more and more abnormal about the lottery taking place in the community. The lottery, usually portrayed "as a joyous occasion", is what the town's people are gathering around for in the square (Friedman 191). As the story goes on, the reader begins to listen to the conversations happening between the people of the village, and begins to wonder why this lottery is so different. Unsettledness in the voices of the townspeople and hesitation of participating in the lottery shows that this lottery may not have a positive outcome for the "lucky" winner. The setting and plot of "The Lottery" help contribute to the overall theme by giving the reader a sense of normality at the beginning of the story, and throwing a sudden twist into the minds of the readers at the very end of the short story.
Jackson's unique point of view in "The Lottery" gives the reader a better understanding of the overall theme. She uses third- person dramatic point of view to help the reader interpret every person's emotions towards the lottery. At the beginning of the story the reader seems to grasp the idea that the town "[has] a holiday atmosphere" by using this point of view (Friedman 191). Using third-person dramatic point of view keeps a neutral position in the story, not allowing it to become biased toward one person's thoughts and feelings. Jackson uses this point of view to her advantage to keep the reader anticipating the outcome of the story. Through the story the reader is kept from fully understanding why the community is holding this annual event. It isn't until the end of the story that the reader can put all the information gathered from the point of view to realize that a barbaric tradition is taking place. Jackson effectively uses third-person dramatic to blind the reader from truly expecting the evil outcome of her story.
It's very evident that Jackson uses symbolism, setting, and point of view, to help convey the theme of her short story "The Lottery". Through the analysis of different symbols, such as the lottery, the character's names, and the black box we can conclude that these symbols each show that no matter how barbaric tradition can be, it will continue on when beliefs are strong. Jackson's setting and plot show the hidden meaning behind holding the lottery, which is to give to their gods a scapegoat through sacrifice for rain and bountiful crops in return. The point of view influenced how the reader navigates their way through interpreting the story. Jackson's ability to use these three literary elements in her short story, has given "The Lottery" it's widely accepted theme of the "pointless violence and general inhumanity" of society using scapegoats to bear the sins of the community, just to follow a tradition, barbaric or not (Friedman 191). Throughout time "The Lottery" has encountered many negative responses about the inhumanity and brutality of the story, but even through all of the criticism the short story is now adopted as an American literature classic.
Work Cited
Cervo, Nathan. "Jackson's 'The Lottery'" Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jenny Cromie. Vol. 39. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 208.
Friedman, Lenejama. "The Short Stories," Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jenny Cromie. Vol. 39. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 190-192.
Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery, "Literature: An introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Vivian Garcia. 9th Edition. New York: Pearson Education Inc., 2009. 140-145.
Nebeker, Helen E. "The Lottery: Symbolic Tour de Force," Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jenny Cromie. Vol. 39. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 187-190.
Yarmove, Jay A. "Jackson's 'The Lottery'" Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jenny Cromie. Vol. 39. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. 233-235.
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