o become one, the stool and the box, just as in Christian beliefs God and the bible are all but inseparable, much to the chagrin of others. Slips of paper, as insignificant as they may seem on the surface, take on meaning of great magnitude in the story. As each individual participant in the lottery finds that there paper is not the one marked, the paper is released and drifts away. The slips of paper come to represent the participant’s souls, here representing the untainted soul, drifting away and remaining free, as if going to heaven. In contrast Mrs. Hutchison’s slip of paper that has a dark spot, shows that marred souls receive punishment after judgment, a common Christian belief. I believe the symbolism here is trying to show us that only certain people can be lucky enough to fit within the criteria that Christianity places on a person in order to be holy, and that a sinner can easily be anyone if you use Christian standards. Several of the characters and attributes of the characters come to embody Christian, Biblical, and church-like things. For example you have Mr. summers who is the head of the procession. He is wearing a “clean white shirt....” this giving us the feeling of him being a priest, whom often times wear white robes. Mr. Adams is the first to draw from the box and receive his judgment. In the Bible, as many already know, Adam is the first man, and is also the first to receive judgment from god. Old man Warner denotes many things within the story. He becomes a symbolic of the stereotype for those who have attended church the longest, and are the strongest believers in their church. He is adamant in his belief that the lottery is right and all those who believe differently are sure to be punished, and Christians believe that if you don’t have and attend church you are damned. Through the use of Mr. Warner the story strikes the reader with the realization of how foolish those people who sim...
