In Marxist criticism, the rich exploit the poor to become more powerful and wealthy. In The Lottery story by Jackson, Mr. Summer is seen to entice the poor to play the lottery to gain more wealth. In a capitalist world, the rich protect their family from exploitation by the capitalist. In the story, we can see how Mr. Summer protects his family against being stoned. In the story, Mrs. Hutchinson comes from a middle-class society, she draws in the lottery, and the consequence is stoning (Suwardi 93). The poor and the middle classes suffer in a capitalist world, while the rich enjoy their riches. The lottery has been in existence for years and even the old man in the village could not figure out when it started. This is similar to capitalism which has been in existence for years.
Capitalism focuses on instilling fear, especially in the targets, by making them never doubt their existence. That can be determined by realizing social orders between the wealthy, middle class, and the poor. In this hierarchy, the rich control the poor, the middle-class me, while the middle-class men control the poor. In every social order, there is a group of a few rich men who hold the rest of society. These men have secrets that they swore never to disclose to anyone, even their family members. That is how the capitalist world works; the rich keep secrets about controlling society (Jackson 1332). In the story of the lottery by Jackson, the three wealthy men who control the village know that the black box they are using is not original. Contrary, the poor and the middle-class men do not know that.
Mr. Summer is known as the moderator and the initiator of the lottery process. The lottery brings activeness and togetherness to the village through annual celebrations and daily activities. Like any other leader, Mr. Summer is viewed as an outgoing and intelligent man who brings a great mood to the lottery game. The fact that the lottery is an immoral activity, the vibes brought by the game leader bring great attitudes to the players. Mr. Summer is an infertile man, and the villagers sometimes pity him for his nature. However, despite that, his presence in the lottery indicates the legitimacy of the exercise (Nugraha 34). Mr. Summer is the owner of the largest coal company in the town. The business makes him the most respectable person the society. Just like any other Capitalist society, the wealthiest people have the largest business that controls the people. For example, the coal industry has helped people acquire jobs and sustain themselves. The coal business is also associated with the lottery, especially making a black dot on the paper.
In a capitalist world, some authoritative people control the masses. In this case, Mr. Summer, Mr. Martin, and Mr. Graves are authoritative. Any of these people are allowed to open the lottery; however, for the legitimacy of the activity, Mr. Summer must be present. Mr. Summer is also known to be so manipulative, and he convinces the villages to play the game. He allows Mr. Adams to win the lottery so that the villagers can believe the exercise is real and fair. Comparing this with a capitalist society, the rich must convince the poor that what they do is real so that more people can participate. The rich manipulate the poor by convincing them, and when the consequences strike, the elites are unconcerned. The class struggle is so evident in the story where the lottery priorities are issued based on the class (Robinson 35). Mr. Hutchinson is seen as a person who holds to what he believes in. This is clear when his wife rejects the lottery results because they affect her directly.
At the beginning of the story, there is a lot of calmness, and peace as portrayed by the author. The story is a bit ironic in how it shows the calmness hiding the malicious activities in the village. In any capitalist society, there are complaints from the poor who are exploited. In the story, the poor are seen protesting against the existence of the lottery. Mr. Warner, who has been in the village for the longest time, tells the villagers that the lottery is a tradition, and it has been in existence for the longest time (Hakaraia 110). The protest describes how horrible the atmosphere is at the lottery. The symbolism used in writing also explains a lot about the lottery exercise. For example, the use of green grass and blossoming flowers shows how calm the place is. The use of lottery language such as winning, losing, and fairness makes the exercise look real. Mr. Summer uses a cheerful mood to entice the participants and makes them feel comfortable while playing. The one used in this story is calm, peaceful, and later horrible. The literature style used is symbolism, and the technique is manipulative and uses a historical perspective.
Works cited
Hakaraia, Teresa. “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery,’ and William Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity.” Humanities 8.3, 2019.
Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Bergen Community College, 2021.
Nugraha, Intan S., and Sutiono Mahdi. “Transitivity System on Building Character of Mr. Summers in the Lottery by Shirley Jackson.” Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, vol. 7, no. 1, 2020.
Robinson, Michael. “Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and Holocaust Literature.” Humanities 8.1, 2019.
Suwardi, Albertus. “A Marxist Interpretation of Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’.” Journal of English and Education, vol. 4, no. 2, 2016, pp. 91-98.