Not Everything is as it Seems

Author’s Note: This is a analysis of the symbolism shown throughout the story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.

In The Lottery things are not as they might seem. The lottery is a prize given every year to someone, but the prize is a not one you want to win. When you win everyone else has to throw rocks until you die. In this twisted story they use a lot of symbolism to show the meaning of things.

There are many items used in the lottery. In the lottery, the thing used to pick who wins is a large black box which has been worn out and splintered. The box has been used for a long time so it represents the dark history of the lottery and why the tradition of the lottery should wear out of use just like the box has.

The dark box is not the only thing has symbolism. The prize of winning is death and I think the author made it like that to show that not all things are as they might seem. Also I think it represents that sometimes you have to let go of something because the town is not letting go of their tradition of the lottery which keeps getting people killed every year.

Not everything is at it seems. Darkness can be hidden underneath anything. Just like it was in the lottery where winning seems like losing. Throughout it there were many things representing the darkness and symbolism was used to show it.