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The author of the short story, “The Lottery”, uses the characters in the story to symbolize the unwillingness of a culture to resist change, deal with topics such as race and gender equality and how society has chosen who to love.

How the culture is Unwilling to accept change. In the story, there were so many rituals and the townspeople kept up these rituals such as the old black box and Old Man Warner did not want to stop the tradition
"It's not the way it used to be... people ain't the way they used to be.”
―  Shirley Jackson, The Lottery

Uses the characters to show how people deal with race and gender equality (point of the gender roles of the characters in the story

How society shows who to love. In the story the townspeople draw out the black box to see who will be stoned to death
"  No one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box". Shirley Jackson

"The town relies on tradition as both a binding element and a crutch. The villagers resist Mr. Summers's attempts to move them into the future by getting a new box. The old black box has come to represent their past and their way of life". Shirley Jackson

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"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson focuses on the villages traditions that for many years had been preformed to, from what I understand, manage the population in the village. The black box mentioned in this story short is symbolic of death. This yearly lottery was to determine who was going to die and the villagers were excited and looked forward to this event. Even though change obviously needs to happen the villagers support this event, Old Man Wagner even referred to others who had stopped the lottery as fools. Old Man Wagner mentioned in the story that this was his 77th lottery, that means he has assisted in 77th deaths in that village. He was proud of it! That is horrible. Should cruel and unusual punishments as being stoned to death be legal, let alone as easy to decide as drawing a black dot from the black box of doom?

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Jackson's short story "The Lottery" focuses on an unusual tradition that has been passed down for many decades and it shows how the villagers have become accustomed to this way of life. The actual lottery is symbolic itself, it is  a yearly event where villagers gather around, seemingly excited for while being exposed to the cruel and unusual punishment of having one of their own being stoned to death. While waiting for the papers to be drawn, Old Man Wagner states  "lottery in June, corn will be heavy soon." This quote explains the thrill of the lottery, also the darkness that comes with the actions of the villagers. The lottery system shows how change may be needed, but can certainly be unwanted.

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Thesis: "The Lottery" is a story that focuses on the inhumanity and violence of a communities tradition portrayed through the use of dark symbolism represented by a black box.
I plan to use the black box as a representation of death and follow with the many other representations of dark colors that portray the inhumanity of the community. With "The Lottery" being something that results in death, these dark colors emphasize the way this story plays out and how through tradition the community feels this event is something that should normally take place.
The quote I felt would best support and tie into my argument would be, ""Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."" This quote ties into the fact that the people of the community saw this as something that should take place. With that being said it focuses on my main point of how the inhumanity of the community has been caused by this form of tradition.

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Thesis: "One of the most prominent symbols Jackson uses throughout her story are the stones...they foreshadow impending death, expose the brutal nature that resides in every human, and represent ritualistic behaviors."

One quote I will use to support my claim that the stones foreshadow death is, "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix—the villagers pronounced this name “Dellacroy”—eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys."

This quote appears in the beginning of the story and helps support my claim that the stones foreshadow death by telling the reader early on in the story that the young boys are already collecting and choosing the stones they will use later on to help stone one of their neighbors to death.

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Thesis:  “In the story “The Lottery” it begins with a yearly sacrifice of a member of the society, this has been an unquestioned tradition obeyed by the community for generations. There are many different pieces of this work that can be interpreted to a deeper meaning, the symbolism behind the lottery prove that not only was this piece deeper than just the surface but can also be translated to past and current times through the real meanings behind the symbols.”

One reason I will use to support my thesis is that the Lottery itself relates to the desire of tradition and obligation to continue tradition due to family ties that can cause one to be blind to the real harm behind the tradition. Traditions can be forced on its member without any resistance. An example of this from the story would be the children piling the rocks that would later be used to kill someone. A child was used as a ploy to keep the tradition alive and to keep them from straying from tradition by making sure from birth they would know that their tradition was required to be followed.

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In the story, “The Lottery”, the author demonstrates mankind’s instinct for self-preservation over ethics and morality through the conflict depicted in man vs. self, man vs. society, and finally in man vs. fate suggesting that fear over death and rejection overpowers the aspiration to stand for what is right.. The author further exemplifies the irony of the story through the depiction of the beautiful scenery and cheery dispositions on this most gruesome of days. The scene in which all the villagers begin to draw their sheets of paper revealed one of the many conflict of man vs. society. ““They do say,” Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, “that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery. “” In this example you see one of the town’s people clearly at odds of this tradition trying to place the idea of this eliminating this mandatory death sentence holiday shot down by other villagers. “”There’s always been a lottery,” he added petulantly.” Unwillingness to change simply carries on the destruction and despair of families within the town. Man vs. fate is clearly seen as Ms. Hutchinson becomes singled out as the designated winner of the lottery. Her repeated statement , ““It wasn’t fair,” Tessie said.” rang true throughout the minds of the villagers yet did not stop the fateful moment of her death.

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The lottery is usually associated with the thrill of winning money, or with the complete opposite feeling of irritation after a loss. Shirley Jackson takes a complete turn at the idea with her short story, “The Lottery”. The rules along with the outcome are very different from what one might think from just the title; Jackson uses characters, color details, and the title of her short story as symbols to lead us to the murder of one of the villagers.  Jackson uses a village full of happy people who are eager to take their chances in the lottery to make the reader assume that it is a blissful occasion. When a closer look is taken, it is noticeable that this tradition is not as happy as the reader may have assumed.One of the outstanding symbols used in “The Lottery”, was the black box and the black dot that was put on a random piece of paper, which was later put into a container to be drawn from.Old Man Warner he said; “Used to be a saying about “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”, First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery”The coincidence of plentiful crops around the time of the lottery every year corrupted Old Man Warners’ mind to believe that the lottery had something to do with it.

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The lottery is usually associated with the thrill of winning money, or with the complete opposite feeling of irritation after a loss. Shirley Jackson takes a complete turn at the idea with her short story, “The Lottery”. The rules along with the outcome are very different from what one might think from just the title; Jackson uses characters, color details, and the title of her short story as symbols to lead us to the murder of one of the villagers.  Jackson uses a village full of happy people who are eager to take their chances in the lottery to make the reader assume that it is a blissful occasion. When a closer look is taken, it is noticeable that this tradition is not as happy as the reader may have assumed.One of the outstanding symbols used in “The Lottery”, was the black box and the black dot that was put on a random piece of paper, which was later put into a container to be drawn from.Old Man Warner he said; “Used to be a saying about “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”, First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery”The coincidence of plentiful crops around the time of the lottery every year corrupted Old Man Warners’ mind to believe that the lottery had something to do with it.

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My working thesis as of right now is
"Throughout the story you see how it begins to evolve. Kids playing and picking up rocks while parents gathered together and chatted until the lottery began. It seems as though it is one happy evening, until you read and understand the symbolization of the rocks and stones children have began to play with. Even though the people of the village know it is brutal, they still take place in the lottery. This activity has set the foundation for generations to come because it has become an unfair social norm for the villagers, it has brought the belief that stoning someone for sacrifice will bring the crops and rain  that they desire, and children are bound to continue this activity because each year they take part in killing friends or even family because their family says it is ok and it's something that has always been done, but should it continue to be done?" One reason I will give to support my thesis about the lottery being wrong and uncalled for is that the timing they offer (June) is a dry month compared to July or August, which usually have more rain or wetter conditions to offer. The main reason the community sacrifices someone appears to be because they believe so strongly it will bring them better crops and rain. Although, is it really worth a life to wait one or two more months for something that comes naturally? "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson para 1). You can't have blossoming flowers and beautiful grass without some type of rain or moisture, what is the deeper purpose of the lottery? Perhaps tradition, but the people do not deserve to die against their will over a piece of paper!

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Thesis: Reliance on the villagers determination to continue the yearly sacrifice, the author uses the Lottery to force the villagers to submit themselves, without question, to continue this barbaric tradition. Tradition plays a huge role in their
everyday lives, it keeps them in line, so to speak, it provides order in the village.
This quote by Old Man Warner solidified if for me. He was an old timer, one who had been around for forever and he clearly looked down on the young people who questioned whether to continue the lottery or not.
"Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery,” he added petulantly."
He viewed it absolutely ridiculous that they would stop this tradition, even so much that if they stopped it would be as bad as going back to living in caves.

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Thesis:
The narrator's description of the events leading up to the lottery create a feeling of indifference towards the characters until more of their actions are revealed.
An example of this is in the first sentence of the second paragraph. A sense of indifference is being conveyed by mentioning that “Liberty sat uneasily amongst the children.” The text then goes into how the children soon after “broke out into a boisterous play.” While reading the content you almost go into a sense of wonder about the series of events. That is until the narrator brings forth another event, that settles your thoughts of anything out of the ordinary. It is almost as if the reader is being pushed in and pulled back out so that nothing elaborate can be determined.

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"The villagers have been exposed to generations of traditions that are to be followed during the lottery. Although there have been controversies over its continuance in the future, the villagers remain to stone a neighbor annually. Symbols have underlying importance that sometimes can be overlooked-such as, the black wooden box. The villagers use the wooden box each year for the slips of papers that each citizen much come up and get. The box is carelessly cared for, and handled, unlike other parts of the lottery process. In the text, there are various places that mention the black box-but, "The night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves made up the slips of paper and put them into the box, and it was then taken to the safe of Mr. Summers' coal company and locked up until Mr. Summers was read to take it to the square the next morning. The rest of the year, the box was put away, sometimes one place, sometimes another. By telling the locations of the box, it can bring to mind questions of relevance to the lottery and its traditions and rituals. The black box was poorly cared for, perhaps, due to people not having sympathy for the consequences that followed grabbing the slip. Everyone tries to overlook the lottery, and its annual appearance and harsh effect, hence Mrs. Hutchinson's late arrival.