An Analysis of Shirley Jacksons The Lottery and...

Shirley Jackson The Lottery Shirley Jacksons short story The Lottery depicts life in a provincial American town with rigid social norms. Mr. Summers symbolizes everything that is wrong with the town; he represents blind adherence to ritual, social rigidity, and resistance to change. His name corresponds with the seasonal setting of The Lottery, too, drawing attention to the importance of his character in shaping the theme of the story. Summers is in charge of the central motif of the story, the lottery that takes the life of a human being. A predecessor to The Hunger Games, Jacksons The Lottery shares in common with its modern counterpart a theme of how groupthink places a stranglehold on both individuals and whole communities. As part of his duties as lottery manager, Summers controls the black box where all the names are placed. None of the townspeople question the insanity of the lottery, and in fact, they revere it as if it were a sacred tradition. It has achieved fetish status. Thus, Jackson draws a close parallel between the ritual of the lottery and the religious rituals that characterize life in small town America. In so doing, Jackson connects herself with Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose writing critiqued small town puritan New England life and its rigid adherence to religious dogma. In The Lottery, the people resist change just as much as their symbolic priest (Mr. Summers) does. Mr. Summers actually wants to upgrade the box, but the people do not wantShow MoreRelatedANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 Pagesï » ¿TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS The purpose of Text Interpretation and Analysis is a literary and linguistic commentary in which the reader explains what the text reveals under close examination. Any literary work is unique. It is created by the author in accordance with his vision and is permeated with his idea of the world. The reader’s interpretation is also highly individual and depends to a great extent on his knowledge and personal experience. That’s why one cannot lay down a fixed â€Å"model†