Essay Database

In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” many symbols are used to describe the characters in the story. The names indirectly give us hints about their nature. The symbols of the characters are used to reinforce the theme: Those in power wanting to keep the tradition versus the ones with no power not wanting to keep the tradition. In this story, there is a social ladder, a hierarchy of positions similar to medieval times. Mr. Summers …

…placed a lot of importance on the impact of societal hierarchy. She showed that the people with the political and economic power are the ones who make the rules and work to keep the tradition alive. Mr. Summers, Graves and Martin occupied higher social and economical status, which gave them the power to have the final saying. The others with lower social status could say little, had to follow the rules and accept their fate.