The Role of the Symbolism in Jackson’s “The Lottery” and in Márquez’s “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” (Essay Example)

Shirley Jackson’s “The lottery” presents significant themes such as the innate predilection to violence of humankind, the power of tradition and herd mentality in a short story that explores human nature by utilizing relevant symbolism throughout the story foreshadowing the result, but still managing to shock the reader. The author constructs an alternate reality where human sacrifice is the norm.

The title itself, the lottery is in itself a symbol of unchallenged and uncontested tradition, but as the story reveals it is also contradictory with the meaning itself. The word ‘lottery’ entails a prize given to its winner, usually a cash prize. In Shirley Jackson’s work the winner is ultimately stoned by the same people they lived alongside. 

A vital symbol in the story is the black box, since besides the brutal execution it is the only thing tying the ceremony to its origins, even though it has been reconstructed from pieces instead being the original lottery 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 strong respect the people of the village have for it enhances the importance and its symbolic meaning of archaic traditions passed down through time. The lottery lost its original meaning, together with the paraphernalia used at the time when the ritualistic killing first began, but its hold on the people had not dwindled, since together with its meaning the reasons for it have also gotten lost. In addition, the box is also reminiscent of Pandora’s Box, the source of all evil that has been unleashed the moment it was opened. The spot on the slip of paper is a symbol of destruction and impending death as it is evocative of the blemishes and sores appearing on the body of a diseased person. Furthermore, it also denotes the futility of the lottery as the mark condemning another person to their death is a simple dot made with a pencil the night before the ritual by Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves “The night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves made up the slips of paper and put them in the box”, simple human beings who have no right to have judgment over someone else’s life. The simple slip of paper has no real value or power above what the people of the village give it.

The three-legged stool, on which the lottery box is placed, is interpretable as The Trinity since each of its legs stands for The Father, The Son and respectively The Holy Spirit. Another interpretation of this symbol is the three different types of attitude the people of the town have. Most people show indifference, while some, such as Mr. and Mrs. Adams, show hints of concern and question their traditions, showing interest in other towns, which have already discontinued the lottery. The third attitude is the excitement shown mostly by children and older people, such as Old Man Werner.

The method of execution is another symbol chosen by Shirley Jackson which ties the story to religion, as it was highly popular in the Bible becoming a symbol for the murder of innocents, since numerous Christian martyrs have been killed this way. Furthermore, this method also eliminates the guilt of the one who committed the act, thus transferring the blame from the individual to the community as a whole, to society. The stones are also symbols and reminders of the inherent propensity towards violence of human beings. While the people have “forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.” demonstrating their need for brutality. 

The names of the characters also hold interesting symbolism. Mr. Summers’ name suggests happiness, warmth and light, Mr. and Mrs. Graves’ death, a place of burial, while Mr. and Mrs. Delacroix’s name means “of the cross”, alluding to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

While Jackson’s “The lottery” tells a story of violence and evil, Gabriel García Márquez’s short story, “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” highlights the best in humanity. Márquez, as opposed to what the title suggests presents the metamorphic quality of creativity and imagination, the true extent of human compassion and mankind’s ability to see beauty and wonder even in a corpse. In this representation of magical realism, the author uses symbols to evoke the same marvel in the readers as Esteban has done in the people of the village.

The central symbol of the story, the drowned man, is the catalyst for the transformation the village and its people go through. By his mere presence he triggers their imagination, becoming whoever and whatever they imagine him as. The children view him as a plaything “The first children who saw the dark and slinky bulge approaching through the sea let themselves think it was an enemy ship. Then they saw it had no flags or masts and they thought it was a whale.” , even when they realize he is indeed the body of a man washed ashore. The women regard him as someone fit for their passion filled imagination and then as a young man who lost his life too early, deserving of compassion, of a name. The unanimous decision on the name Esteban, meaning crown, raise him to a god-like, glorified status. To the people he symbolizes inspiration, hope for a better, more fulfilled life and change.

The village itself is a dynamic symbol, which changes throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, it represents a hollow life, devoid of culture and beauty “The village was made up of only twenty-odd wooden houses that had stone courtyards with no flowers and which were spread about on the end of a desertlike cape.” Through the appearance of Esteban it evolves into a place filled with, tradition, pride and beauty: “their houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings, and stronger floors so that Esteban's memory could go everywhere”; “they were going to paint their house fronts gay colors to make Esteban's memory eternal”; “they were going to break their backs digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers”. 

The flowers planted on the cliffs represent the townspeople’s newfound happiness, the renewed sense of life and the fact that Esteban’s village has been turned into a place worthy of a deity, of him.