Entry #4: Quote Response

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

“that over in the north village they‘re talking about giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them…Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’…There’s always been a lottery” (Kennedy, pg. 219-220).

I choose this passage because it caught my attention right off the bat. The question that came in to mind was; Why would the north village talk about giving up the lottery? Several possibilities could be that winning prices were scarce or that the effort put into making a lottery a success is just too stressful. Either way, the quote “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” was just too peculiar to me. This almost hinted to me as the reader that something ominous and dark could only come out of this lottery drawing.
My fascination with symbolism has led me pick this story initially. After reading the complete story, I’m still shocked as to what has transpired at the end where Mrs. Hutchinson was stoned to death. Overall, the title in itself is symbolic. When I think of the lottery, I think of wealth and happiness brought by the luck of the draw. In this case, wealth in terms of a good harvest was the supposed outcome of stoning Mrs. Hutchinson to death. It’s ironic (and confusing a bit) when Bill Hutchinson was called and Terry Hutchinson was demanding a do-over.
Another symbolism is the appearance of stone everywhere in the setting. The author mentions children stacking them up and re-mentions it all throughout the plot line when she’s depicting the surroundings.
Another is the old wooden box. It has wear and tare, and its damaged. This symbolizes the continuity of a tradition. The unwillingness to let go. Along with the wooden box are the stones to paper modification to meet the growing population. This shows that no matter what, change is inevitable specially to a growing population. The need to adapt (from stone to paper) was a coping mechanism in an attempt to ease the slowly occurring transition.