Comparison of themes in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and another short story

SHIRLEY JACKSON'S "THE LOTTERY" & "THE VILLAGER"

In the short stories "The Lottery" and "The Villager" by American author Shirley Jackson, best known for her novel The Haunting of Hill House, the reader can easily see that these two stories have much in common, especially regarding the settings, the plots, the characters, themes, metaphor and Jackson's use of symbolism. Thus, "The Lottery" and "The Villager" demonstrate Jackson's ability to tell a story steeped in the weird and the unknown, two traits that make her one of the best short story writers of the 20th century.

In "The Lottery," the setting is in a village located somewhere in New England, a prime location for the strange events in the story. The main character, a Mr. Summers, known by the villagers as the "conductor" of the lottery, is described as a "round-faced, jovial man" in the coal business who accepts the sympathies of the villagers due to being childless and with a wife that constantly scolds him (292). Mr. Summers is also the main practitioner of the mysterious lottery and is obviously very knowledgeable about this odd practice, due to making it mandatory that every year a new box has to be constructed to hold the pieces of paper with the names of all the villagers written on them.

This serves as the main plotline for the story and symbolizes the strange traditions carried on within this unnamed village, a place filled with old superstitions and myth. Thematically, Jackson is attempting to convey the idea that Mr. Summers and the villagers are still living in the "Dark Ages" as the practitioners of some ancient ritual which is far beyond the bounds of "normal" society. After reading "The Lottery," one might ask why Mr. Summers and his fellow villagers continue to practice such a weird ritual which may stand as a cultural metaphor, one that expresses evil over good for the benefit of all concerned.

In "The Villager," literary devices similar to those in "The Lottery" are easily recognized by the reader and basically serve the same purposes. But there are also similarities in the characters, the setting, the plot, themes and the use of metaphor and symbolism. For example, the setting of the story is in another village, namely, Greenwich Village in New York City, where the main character, Hilda Clarence, works "as a stenographer in a coal and coke concern" (49), similar to Mr. Summer and his coal business in "The Lottery." Ms. Clarence also refers to herself as a "Village die-hard" (49-50), a description close to what the villagers in "The Lottery" represent.