The Lottery Symbolism Essay - 804 Words

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story based on a fictional village that holds a macabre ritual. Although the regularity was not stated within the tale, the story speaks of a regular gathering of the village folk to conduct some form of lottery. In a disturbing twist of the tale, the winner of the lottery doesn’t get to receive a prize, but instead, suffer the indignity of being killed by getting stoned to death by friends, family, and neighbors. Mrs. Hutchinson is the unfortunate soul, who, despite her pleas and protests has no option but accept her fate. In a similarly titled story, The Lottery by Chris Abani talks about an incident he witnessed when he went to the market with his aunt. In the story, Abani explains how he†¦show more content†¦Despite the crudeness and evil of the Lottery, the village has established a set of elaborate rules that they follow to the letter right down to who is supposed to draw from the box and who is responsible for the famil ies responsible. The village is also based on a Patriarchal system since teenage boys are given priority over their mothers when it comes to participation. Abani Abani employs symbolism in his version of The Lottery. His Aunt symbolizes the indifference of religion when it comes to backward traditions. Abani’s aunt, despite being a religious fanatic, fails to express her religion but instead participates in the mob’s action against the thief. She slaps the thief as he runs by and forces Abani to watch the thief burn. The Council of elders represents the futility of the law when it comes to irrational actions. The thief would have had sanctuary and received a fair trial, but the mob overpowered the elders and had their way. The story by Abani is set in an African background. It may be unfair to render the people as backward automatically, but their decision to act arbitrarily and against the wishes of the elders speaks of weakness regarding civility. Like the villagers in Jackson’s story, the bloodthirsty mob carries out an illogical and crude act with no regard for the life of the man they perceive to be a thief in the hope that the children will learn a valuable lesson.Show MoreRelatedLottery Essay Symbolism1249 Words   |  5 PagesSymbolism Essay Symbolism is a sign that has been used by literary authors to represent a larger idea into another more specific concept or belief. Symbolism can be used to represent an action, an idea or a person’s archetype as well. The term symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing in things with a symbolic meaning or character (â€Å"Symbolism†). Examples of symbolism are: an eagle representing freedom, a dove representing peace, and the color green can symbolizeRead MoreThe Lottery Symbolism Essay908 Words   |  4 PagesAll around the world today thousands of people die from murder and the numbers increase every year. 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