What is a significant universal symbol in "The Lottery"?

Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is packed with powerful symbols, from the black box—with its nods to psychology, tradition, and death—to Mr. Summers's list and the little scraps of paper, which seem to indicate the fragility and impermanence of life. The symbol that seems most powerful in my reading, however, is the use of stones in the story's shocking ending. A thesis statement about this symbol could address how the stones indicate people's powerful, primal urge for violence.

In the world of this short story, tradition is clearly important. Jackson goes to great lengths to explain the rituals and history of the lottery. Regardless, as a reader, one can't help but finish the story and ask, "But why are they doing this? Why are they senselessly killing people?" The answer is tradition, as can be found in a line from Old Man Warner:

There's always been a lottery.

This isn't the only interesting line from Old Man Warner, though. Time and time again, he comments on how the lottery and its surrounding rituals have changed since his younger years. The narrator of the story also gives us an interesting insight here:

Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.

In much the same way that the "Stone Age" evokes ideas of people fighting with spears, or the idea that large stones were used in catapults, the stones in this story demonstrate a connection between tradition and violence. As a reader, that tells me that some parts of human nature can't be quelled by technological and societal advancement. Perhaps violence and humanity will always go hand in hand.

Another universally symbolic meaning in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is attached to the character of Old Man Warner, whose narrow-minded mantra is "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon."  Representative of all those who believe ideas or repeat actions simply because they are part of their culture--"Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery"--Old Man Warner is backward and ignorant, a slave to a hideous ritual that he blindly accepts solely because it is a custom.

Therefore, in composing a thesis, you can use Old Man Warner as the symbolic instrument of the concept of any action or belief that is passed down from generation to generation that is blindly accepted and followed unquestioningly, no matter how cruel, unreasonable, or even strange.  For support of this, there is Warner himself as well as the others in the village who follow suit by complying with the violent ritual even after speaking in a friendly manner to the victim of this violence.

I chose imagery and details as the supporting evidence for the black box's symbolism, but you could easily substitute in whatever form of literary analysis you prefer.

1. Thesis Statement:  Shirley Jackson uses imagery and details to portray the black lottery box as a universal symbol for death in her short story "The Lottery."

or

2. Thesis Statement:  Shirley Jackson portrays the black box as a universal symbol for death as the great equalizer in her short story "The Lottery."

I would focus on four key elements in regard to the box:  1) the black color, 2) the history and visual details, 3) the villagers' reactions to the box, giving it a wide berth, and 4) the ultimate function of the box as revealed by the story's brutal ending.