Is The Lottery story an allegory?

The Lottery is a short story written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. It created a huge controversy when it was first published in The New Yorker magazine. The story describes a fictional small town in America which holds an annual lottery where the “winner” is stoned to death by the townspeople. The Lottery has often been analyzed as an allegory with the stoning ritual being a symbolic criticism of mindless traditions and the barbaric, herd mentality of communities against individuals. Here we will look at the evidence for and against this allegorical interpretation of the story.

What are the key elements suggesting The Lottery is an allegory?

There are several elements of The Lottery that point to it being an allegorical criticism of traditions and herd mentality:

The lottery is described as an ancient tradition practiced by the townspeople for longer than living memory. The villagers continue the tradition blindly without questioning its barbarity.
There are no reasons given for why the lottery is held or how it started. It seems to be continuing simply because “that’s the way it has always been done.”
The lotterywinner is stoned to death. Capital punishment and human sacrifice are often associated with outdated, barbaric practices.
The townspeople (including family members of the winner) very quickly turn against the lottery winner and become a mob calling for the lottery to proceed. This suggests a herd mentality where individuals lose their humanity in a crowd.
The lottery is suggested to be practiced by other towns as well, indicating how traditions and mob mentality can spread in a community.
Some towns are considering giving up the lottery, indicating there are some who are questioning the barbaric tradition.

These elements suggest the story is an allegory where the lottery represents any pointless but potentially harmful traditions, and the townspeople represent human tendencies for blind conformity and herd behavior against individuals.

What are the counterarguments against the allegorical interpretation?

There are also some aspects of The Lottery which are not completely explained by the allegorical interpretation:

We are not told the origins of the lottery or how it started – some actual causative factors could have led to it rather than just representing general traditions.
The focal point is on the general ritual rather than any single individual character – so it does not highlight any particular behavior driving events.
The ending is abrupt and shocking rather than resolving any particular character arcs or message.
We do not know if the tradition spreads just through blind conformity or whether there are coercive sociopolitical factors.
It does not provide any reform solution – simply eliminating the tradition is presented as unlikely.

Due to these aspects, some argue that The Lottery is more an exploration of human nature through a fictional lens rather than an intentional allegory. The shocking outcome leads the reader to reflect on traditions and conformity without moralizing too heavily.

Does the author’s intent support an allegorical reading?

Shirley Jackson was known for writing about sinister aspects hidden beneath the veneer of normality in human psychology and society. She did not intend for The Lottery to simply be a horror story:

“Explaining just what I had hoped the story to say is very difficult. I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story’s readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives.” – Shirley Jackson

Jackson’s intent seems to have been using this fictional narrative to symbolically critique certain real tendencies in human thinking and societies. She highlights pointless brutality resulting from stagnant traditions and mob mentality. Her interest was in shocking readers into questioning and reflecting on the potential darkness in familiar, everyday phenomena around them.

Conclusion

The Lottery can be interpreted as an allegorical work which uses the fictional ritual and townspeople to present a symbolic criticism of conformity, herd behavior, and the persistence of harmful traditions and mindsets in society. The evidence suggests this allegorical meaning with the shocking story aimed at critiquing and warning readers about real tendencies in human psychology rather than just telling a disturbing tale. However, there are also aspects such as the ambiguous background and abrupt ending which lead some to argue the work is more open-ended in its exploration of human nature through a fictional lens. But the author’s own intent and the striking symbolism support reading The Lottery as an allegorical work – not a moralizing one, but a provocative thought-piece making readers reflect critically on the darkness potentially hidden in their familiar, everyday lives.

Does the story reflect broader themes in Shirley Jackson’s works?

The Lottery reflects some of the broader themes that are common in Shirley Jackson’s writing:

Exploring darkness in mundane reality – Jackson often focused on sinister human drives and group dynamics that can lurk beneath the surface of normality.
Criticism of societal pressures on women – The Lottery highlights women’s lack of power and the female scapegoating within community traditions.
Group conformity and sacrifice of individuals – Jackson examined exploitative social patterns, pressures to conform, and the victimization of individuals who deviate from the group.
The thin line between civilization and barbarism – Her stories raise questions about how easily social order can dissolve into chaos and violence.
Detachment and indifference – The affectless, routine way the stoning occurs suggests the townspeople’s detachment from empathy and individual responsibility.

These themes reflect Jackson’s interest in exploring the problems and paradoxes underlying cultural norms, gender roles, community belonging, and human psychology through an unsettling fictional lens.

How does the setting contribute to the allegorical interpretation?

The small town American setting of The Lottery contributes to its allegorical interpretation in several ways:

It reflects the rise of suburbia and close-knit neighborhood communities in post-war America.
The familiar, bucolic setting masks more sinister behaviors beneath the wholesome exterior.
Conformity pressures are more extreme in a tight-knit community.
Rural towns are more likely to adhere to traditions and resist change.
Isolating the story in one fictional village highlights how group think and mob mentality can take over.

By using a quaint, peaceful small town setting that contemporary readers could relate to, Jackson sets up the shocking contrast of the violent ritual. The duality between the familiar, pleasant exterior and the dark interior of the community reflects the story’s layered allegorical commentary about conformity and human nature.

How do the characters contribute to the meaning?

The characterization in The Lottery contributes to its allegorical meaning in a few key ways:

The townspeople are never individualized, simply referred to as “the villagers” showing how identity becomes subsumed into the collective during the ritual.
Even close family members rapidly turn on the chosen victim, highlighting loss of empathy.
The victim (Tessie) protests the unfairness but no one listens – reflecting ostracization of non-conformists.
The narration is third-person and detached, reflecting the impersonal mechanisms behind scapegoating.
The children are eagerly socialized into the ritual, passing down its senseless tradition.

Through these approaches to characterization, Shirley Jackson emphasizes how individuality and empathy are overridden by conformity and how traditions propagate thoughtlessly from one generation to the next. The blankness of the characters reinforces the allegory’s commentary on the faceless collective.

How does the plot structure contribute to the meaning?

The plot structure of The Lottery contributes to its allegorical interpretation:

It starts by establishing the setting as a familiar, pleasant small town on a summer day.
Hints are dropped that something sinister is occurring.
The shocking truth about the lottery is revealed midway through the story.
The rest depicts the swift, unquestioned mobilization towards the brutal outcome.
The ending is abrupt and chilling, leaving the reader to reflect.

This gradual building of unease followed by clear establishment of the allegorical lottery ritual maximizes the shocking effect. The quick escalation at the end highlights the dangerous conformity of the crowd mentality. Leaving the ending unresolved provokes the reader’s thought process.

What is the significance of the black box used in the lottery?

The black box used in the lottery draws attention as a mysterious, sinister element:

Its decrepit state contrasts against the freshly whitewashed exterior of the town hall.
The color black evokes darkness, gloom, and decay.
It is a relic from the past but its origins are unknown.
The box represents how the reasoning behind traditions becomes buried and forgotten over time.
There is reluctance to replace the box, showing resistance to change.

As a symbol, the black box represents the paradoxical persistence of harmful traditions and mindsets even when their rationale is long forgotten. Its state of disrepair signifies the dysfunction of what it represents. The box’s prominent role in the lottery ritual strengthens the allegorical interpretation of the story.

How does the ritual and sacrifice element contribute to the meaning?

The use of a ritualistic lottery and human sacrifice contributes to the story’s allegorical interpretation in several key ways:

The random sacrificial selection removes individual choice and responsibility.
Sacrifice implies an offering to please higher powers or social customs.
The ritualistic details reveal a structured group effort rather than just mob hysteria.
The marked sacrifice stone parallels ancient religious scapegoating.
Sacrifice symbolizes the offering up of individuals to collective social conventions.

Through these symbolic elements, the story employs the imagery of ritual and sacrifice to represent the sinister underlying social patterns and group mentality which can enable otherwise normal people to commit horrific acts against others. This strengthens the allegorical commentary on human nature.

How does the language and tone contribute to the meaning?

The language and tone in The Lottery enhance its allegorical social commentary:

The matter-of-fact third person narration creates an emotionally distant, reportorial effect.
Formal, polite speech belies the horrific actions occurring.
The townspeople chatting pleasantly maintains a facade of normality.
Repetition of “lottery in June” emphasizes its familiarity and tradition.
Words like “ordinary” and “proper” when describing the ritual underscores the normalization of its horror.

Through subtle suggestive tones and the paradoxical use of pleasantries to describe violence, the story provokes discomfort and unease in the reader. This engages the reader emotionally in the allegory’s message regarding society’s capacity to enable terrible acts through groupthink.

Conclusion

The extensive evidence supports The Lottery being interpreted as an allegorical work. Its elements of symbolism, characterization, tone and language combine to create a narrative which uses the shocking destruction of an individual by community consensus to provoke critical reflection in the reader. The story serves as a warning about real tendencies for conformity, herd behavior, adherence to harmful traditions, and the targeting of individuals who go against the social current. While some ambiguity exists, the author’s intent and the story’s lasting impact suggest it is most profoundly understood as a thought-provoking artistic mirror held up to society’s darker capacities for evil lurking within the ordinary.