The Lottery Group

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pvhs2010
pvhs2010
Student
Community / Jr. College

What is Tess symbolic of in "The Lottery"?

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Posted by pvhs2010 on Tuesday May 26, 2009 at 5:14 PM and tagged with characters, symbols, tess.

Answers:

  1. dalepowell1962
    dalepowell1962 Teacher
    College - Freshman

    The character Tessie Hutchinson is the unfortunate winner in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery".  She is the sacrificial lamb, the one chosen to atone for the "sins" of the community for the year.  She has done nothing wrong, but is simply the one selected by being the receiver of the black spot.

    Another view that I have read many times is that the name Hutchinson is a allusion to Anne Hutchinson, the Rhode Island religious leader and resister during the colonial days.  However, many people (such as myself) reject this idea because Tessie did not resist at all until her family was chosen--in other words, she did not stand up for what was right until it had a personal relevance to her.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/lottery/

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    Posted by dalepowell1962 on Tuesday May 26, 2009 at 5:28 PM