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The Black Box: Symbolic Of Death And Faded Traditions - Online Term Paper

The Black Box: Symbolic Of Death And Faded Traditions

While the setting of Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery, takes place on a clear, sunny, June day, it does not take long for the skies to turn gray as she introduces the readers to the black box. The black box is the central symbol of the short story. It suggest both death and necessity of change due to a combination of the passage of time and population expansion.
The reference to the black box as a symbol of death can be seen in many instance’s throughout the story. For example, when the box is first introduced, “the villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool ( which the box was placed on).” People are afraid and the distance they kept was not due to ...

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way that the towns people stored the black box. People place their experiences with death in different rooms and shelves of their hearts.
The black box also symbolizes the need for a new tradition and the reluctance of the townspeople to accept change. The black box is a symbol of the lottery itself. The physical appearance of the box suggest that it was not only the black box that needed to be replaced but the tradition of the lottery . “The black box grew shabbier each year; by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.” As the physical appearance of the black box deteriorated so did the appropriateness of the tradition.
Mr. Adams revealed in his conversation with Old Man Warner that many of the towns surrounding them had already ceased the lottery tradition and many more were in the process of discussing it, thus further proving that the lottery has lost its significance. In ...

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The Black Box: Symbolic Of Death And Faded Traditions. (2007, December 27). Retrieved April 19, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Black-Box-Symbolic-Death-Faded-Traditions/76554

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"The Black Box: Symbolic Of Death And Faded Traditions." Essayworld.com. December 27, 2007. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Black-Box-Symbolic-Death-Faded-Traditions/76554.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 12/27/2007 08:47:47 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 574
Pages: 3

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