The Symbolism of the LotteryIn Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery", symbols are used to enhance and emphasize the theme of the story. A symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that, in addition to its literal meaning, suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. (Kirszner & Mendell 330) The theme of the story is how coldness and lack of compassion can manifest in people facing situations related to tradition and values. That people will do incredibly evil and cruel things just to keep a routine. Three of the main symbols used by Shirley in the story are the setting, the black box, and the names of the characters. They all tie together to form an intriguing story that clearly shows the terrible potential if society forgets the foundations of tradition. The story also shows many similarities between the village's culture and that of Nazi Germany. How blind obedience to superiors can cause considerable damage not only to a community, but to the entire world. Symbolism plays an important role in "The Lottery" in defining the theme of the story and causing the reader to question traditions. One of the main symbols of the story is the setting. It takes place in a normal small town on a beautiful summer day. "The morning of June 27 was clear and sunny, with the cool warmth of a full summer day; the flowers were in full bloom and the grass was a rich green." (Jackson 347). This brings the reader into a disturbing state of unconsciousness, and makes him believe that the lottery is something wonderful as it is today. The small-town atmosphere and beautiful summer day symbolize the idealistic image that most Americans have of what is right and good in this country. This is reinforced by the fact that the lottery takes place in the same location as many of the city's celebrations such as the squares, the teen club and the Halloween program, and clearly shows how easy it is for people to get rid of their conscience. such horrible actions while being able to have such joyous occasions in the same place. The characters' attitudes and actions slightly suggest to the reader that something is wrong, but give rise to little concern or suspicion. The children played and built piles of stones. The men talked about rain, taxes and tractors while the women chatted. But there was little laughter among the adults, and they stayed completely away from the piles of stones..