Fiction Essay

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Fiction Essay

Thesis Statement and Outline

Thesis statement: the authors employ the use of symbolism and characterization to develop the main themes in the short stories.

Characterization

The Lottery

Tessie Hutchinson, the main character of the story who loses the lottery.

Bill Hutchinson, Tessie’s husband.

Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village

Mr. Summers, a village leader who oversees the lottery

Young Goodman Brown

Goodman Brown, the protagonist of the story and a good Christian

Faith, Goodman Brown’s wife

The Old Man, represents the devil that persuades Goodman Brown to attend the ceremony in the forest.

Goody Cloyse, an old woman who teaches the Bible but is actually a witch.

Symbolism

The Lottery

The lottery

The black box

Young Goodman Brown

The staff

Faith’s pink ribbons

Well developed characters are essential towards the writing of a compelling story, and the two short stories, ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson and ‘Young Goodman Brown’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne do not disappoint. Tessie Hutchinson is the central character in The Lottery. She is a strong woman whom the villagers resent for arriving late to the lottery. She forgot what day it was. While the other women arrive early and stand quietly besides their husbands, Tessie and her husband arrive late, requiring that the other people move for them to get to their family. She is only the only person with the courage to protest against the lottery when her family’s name is drawn. ‘”It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.’ (Jackson 80). Her husband, Bill Hutchinson betrays her in his readiness to show everyone that she drew a black paper which led to her being stoned.

Old Man Warner is the oldest man in the village who is eager to hold onto the traditions of the past. He is quite superstitious and is desperate to keep things exactly as they are for fear that society will plunge into chaos if they abandon their way of life such as traditions. He has participated in several lotteries in the past and is eager to keep it going. Mr. Summers shares Old Man Warner’s sentiments but does not mind a little change as he urges the villagers to make a new box. .” Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.”. (Jackson 5).

In Young Goodman Brown, Goodman brown in the main character. He is a good Christian who firmly believes in God and in the goodness of other people. He is married to Faith whom he believes to be full of virtues (Hawthorne). He is however tempted by the devil to attend the meeting in the forest and he does so out of curiosity. His experience goes to show us that we shouldn’t be too trusting of other people. His wife Faith is equally naïve and too trusting which leads her to be part of the ceremony in the forest. The Old Man or the Devil reveals to Young Goodman that the people he has always trusted to be virtuous have a different identity. One of those people in Goody Cloyse, an upright member of the society who took it upon herself to teach the young people matters of the Bible but is later revealed to be a witch. Goodman Brown remarks, “That old woman taught me my catechism,” said the young man; and there was a world of meaning in this simple comment. (Hawthorne 34).

Symbolism is also used in both short stories. In ‘The Lottery’, the lottery itself is the first symbol. The lottery was passed down from generation to generation and it shows how people can follow traditions that have no meaning yet they follow it without question. The black box is another symbol that also indicates the villagers’ reluctance to depart from their traditions. The box itself is falling apart but they do not want to make a new one because it has been passed down from earlier generations.

The Old Man’s staff and Faith’s ribbons are used as symbols in ‘Young Goodman Brown’. The staff is encircled by a serpent, the animal that led to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. In the same way that Eve was deceived, Goodman Brown is enticed to attend the ceremony in the forest (Hawthorne). The pink ribbons worn by Faith indicate her youth and purity. They also show that Faith is innocent just as Goodman perceives her. In the forest when the pink ribbons fall, it is a sign that fallen into temptation of the devil. At the end of the story however, Faith is back to wearing her ribbons whish can be interpreted to mean that she had returned to her original state of innocence and purity.

In both stories, the characters play a central role in the development of the storyline. The characters portray different character traits such as virtue in Faith, gullibility in Goodman Brown and deviousness in the devil. Symbolism also helps the reader understand the story more; the symbols have a hidden meaning that the author would like to present without being obvious. Both ‘The Lottery’ and ‘Young Goodman Brown’s characterization and symbolism keep the author engrossed and help to decipher the hidden message in the stories.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. The lottery and other stories. MacMillan, 2005.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Young Goodman Brown. Simon and Schuster, 2012.