In "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson uses symbolism to make us aware of the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. The story starts off on a beautiful summer day in a small town. The author describes the day as very euphoric but strikes a contrast between the atmosphere of the town and the people gathered in the square. The atmosphere is subdued, where the children are "gathered around quietly". The black box is the …showed first 75 words of 490 total…

…showed last 75 words of 490 total…being stoned to death does she not question the reasoning behind the lottery, but why it should be her that has to die. The setting set forth in the first paragraph proves to be ironic from the setting at the end of the story. At the end of "The Lottery, "It isn't fair." Tessie was correct; the lottery wasn't fair. Death wasn't fair, especially if you were the sacrificial lamb for the sake of tradition.