The Lottery

The Lottery

The black box in this story symbolizes the unknown: it could be any one of the townsfolk whose name is drawn and thus "wins" the lottery only to die by being stoned. Fate is blind and this blindness is symbolized by the blackness of the box. The black box also symbolizes the way societies tend not to question their traditions, blindly accepting them as an integral part of their lives. Each year on June 27th, the townsfolk bring out the same box: "There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here." The people of the town are scared to let go of the black box; they are scared of change. However, there is an indication that the tradition is wearing thin, that people might soon begin to question it. This weakening of tradition is symbolized by the original wood colour that is beginning to show through the black finish along one side of the box. This worries Mr. Summers, one of the town's elite. Every year Mr. Summers suggests building a new box, but allows the proposal "to fade off without anything's being done," perhaps because if he were to make such a change without sufficient consent he would lose the position of power - the control over tradition - that he presently enjoys. This symbolizes the way politicians must appeal to the sensibilities of the "hard-working" and "responsible" citizens of their constituencies in order to garner support for what are often self-serving projects.

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