. Maybe the Lottery gives Old Man Warner a sense of authority, or a feeling of respect, since he has been invincible seventy-six years in a row now. And the more and more that people want to disown the Lottery, the less power and less authority he has. Tied in with this is a certain sense of fear. Its a fear of change, but as long as nothing changes, there is nothing to fear. Thats what were told. This is a mirror to mankind. If nothing changes, then nothing can go wrong, and there is nothing to fear. We believe that as long as everything is OK now, if nothing changes, there is no problem. But, sometimes thats just because thats what were told, and we follow everything were told. The only problem is, there is something wrong, and they are just so blind with ignorance and stupidity that they dont realize it. Maybe, Old Man Warner is just so old, that he doesnt mind his chances of drawing the spot. This could be some sort of elderly wisdom. He has lived a long, full life, and he may feel that everyone should feel the same way, and that the lottery keeps everyone living life to the fullest. Jackson wants the reader to do just that; live life to the fullest. Without the Lottery, we take life for granted, and dont wake up each morning with a new sense of freshness, ready to live the day, as if it were your last, which it quite possibly could be. Jackson wants the message of eternal youth to come through here, and it does. People have been searching for the Fountain of Youth for hundreds of years, and Old Man Warner has found it. Jackson wants the reader to stop looking for the material Fountain of Youth, and find what it is inside of us that keeps us eternally young, and cling to it as a baby does to its mother. Basically, Old Man Warner symbolizes stupidity. Thats harsh, but true. Or, maybe he is in some weird way one of the few smart people left. Either way, he doesnt want things to change, and he has good reasons for...
