Dead Men’s Path

Shakespeare once wrote, “The common curse of mankind, --folly and ignorance” (Tro. 2.3; Shakespeare). In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to point out the folly and ignorance associated with mankind’s ability to justify their actions with superstition and tradition. “The Lottery” is a short story that without the symbolism of its characters would amount to little more than an odd tale about a stoning. The setting is an almost festive day in the town square. Jackson describes the children bursting “into boisterous play, and their talk still of the classroom” (78). Yet beneath the normality of the setting there is an undertone of reservation. For example, she describes the men standing around telling jokes yet she states that “their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed” (78).
One of the...