The use of figurative language in Shirley Jacksons The
Lottery is significantly expressive, manipulative, and
interesting at the same time. Jackson manipulates her readers by utilizing literary elements such as imagery, irony, and symbolism.
Imagery is one important technique that breathes life
into characters' surroundings. Shirley Jackson provides accurate details of the landscape where the short story takes place, so that the reader will be able to picture the setting clearly. She uses imagery by selecting vivid stamps of daily life in a typical community to make the story more realistic:
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, 5)
As concrete details can enliven a setting, they can do
the same for particular characters. Small details help to form an image in the readers mind. Shirley Jackson uses this kind of character imagery in describing Mr. Summers: He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold (Jackson, 7). This imagery gives the reader the notion that Mr. Summers is familiar to them.
Shirley Jackson also uses a lot of other descriptions to
help the reader experience the story. For example, the way she described the black box: 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 (Jackson, 8). Another description when she portrays the Waston boy: A tall boy in the crowd raised his hand (Jackson, 12). In addition to the descriptions of the papers in the black box: Then Mr. Adams reached into the black box and took out a folded paper and It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office (Jackson).