In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses simple objects to symbolize the narrow-mindedness and brutality in people. The people of this small town are set in certain ways and carry on distinctive traditions and rituals. Over time, the ritual of The Lottery has lost all it's meaning. Each year, everyone in the town gather together in what I picture as the "town square." There is one man who stands in front of everyone with a black box with papers in it. The heads of each family are told to come forward and chose a slip of paper from the box. The family that has the black dot on the slip they drew is brought to the front of the crowd and each member of the family is made to draw another slip of paper. The paper with the black dot is placed back in the box along with other pieces of paper. Whoever draws the slip with the dot on it, is stoned by the other villagers.
             There are many examples of symbolism in "The Lottery." At the beginning of the story, the children of the townspeople are collecting stones. The stones are brought up again at the end of the story for the stoning therefore, they represent death. Another is the use of a black box. The dark color is a representation of death and it's bad condition with the paint fading and the splinters of the original wood showing is also a direct representation of the fading significance of "The Lottery." Each year, Mr. Summers tries to raise funds to build a new box and the townspeople allowed the subject to simply fade away. The townspeople dislike the lottery and they would like to see it simply stopped. They feel it's unfair and serves no purpose. They believe if the box disintegrates, the lottery will go right along with it. After all, many traditions within the lottery have been lost or forgotten over time. For example, the use of wood chips instead of paper and the original parapher!
             The sharp contrast between Mr. Adams and Old Man Warner symbolizes the young generation versus
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