In the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the most important literary concept exemplified is that of imagery, which is the use of visually descriptive and symbolic language. When imagery is used correctly, they allow the reader to paint a vivid picture of the literary work. It also captures the reader's subconscious and attracts the reader's attention. After reading a line, full of images, the reader unconsciously begins to connect to the characters or cases of the story that they can identify with. This allows the reader to feel more comfortable with the story and feel more involved. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? original essay Another. The literary concept that Jackson added to the story was the use of symbolism. Symbolism is used throughout this story, it is important not to be too vague, but just enough for the meaning to reach head readers, forcing them to take a minute to think about what just happened before they can truly understand the deeper meaning of the words used. Subconsciously playing with readers' minds solely using words and with countless other literary concepts at their fingertips, writers can be deadly if they have perfected them. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a high summer day; the flowers bloomed profusely and the grass was richly green.” (430.Jackson). One beautiful thing about using imagery is that the individual can recreate the image the writer is describing and connect it to their own personal society. The importance of capturing the reader's attention from the beginning of any literary work he is reading will lead him to finish what he has started. Often, if the reader doesn't get attached quickly, they start to stop caring about what they're reading and eventually put the literature aside. Another example of Jackson using imagery is when he paints a picture of rocks being stuffed into Bobby Martin's pockets, he states, "Bobby Martin had already filled his pockets with rocks, and the other boys soon followed suit, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones." stones” (431. Jackson). While this use of imagery is powerful, one of the disadvantages of using imagery is providing too much information allowing the reader to read through the intertextuality and solve the mystery of the story too quickly. Since the story is set in the time period of 1948, and the citizens gather in the town square while collecting stones, the reader is allowed to infer that there is about to be a stoning. This, in fact, is what happened, and in this case the reader solves the mystery a little too quickly. Another literary concept that Jackson uses very well is the idea of ​​symbolism, and he does this by using the characters' last names. Names such as Bentham, Hutchinson, Adams and Delacroix were used on purpose and not by coincidence. Although we cannot know for sure, it can be inferred that these names were used to represent figures from the past. Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated for her beliefs and the way she thought, which is similar to how Tessie was punished. Tessie was not killed solely based on her beliefs; however, he coincidentally had a difference of opinion before receiving the penalty. Another example is Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher best known for his utilitarian views on some social reforms of his time. The idea that decisions are considered “good” if they provide the greatest amount of pleasure with the least amount of pain. In this case, Tessie felt pain,but if only one of the three hundred people felt this pain, then the action was considered “good”. This utilitarianism is an interesting way of thinking, especially when it comes to dealing with moral dilemmas. However, utilitarianism is a way of thinking that seems to be “ok”, but not necessarily suitable for all cases. Each case must be considered on its own merits and a decision must be made accordingly. Traditions are really important and it can be fun to follow them and participate in them, however, when it gets to the point of "we don't know why we do this, we just do it because people before us did it" that's not good. Adams, Steve Adams, is an interesting last name for this character. Steve Adams didn't have much time in the story, but he was involved in key points. As they were approaching Tessie, Jackson dropped the joke that Mr. Adams was in front of the horde of people. This could suggest that Adam was the first man on this earth, to throw the first stone, and in turn, to be the first man to lead the pack towards Tessie. “A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Warner was saying, "Come on, let's all go." Steve Adams stood at the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs Graves next to him. (436. Jackson). Adam, being the first man on earth, Delacroix, is also a family surname in history, playing on the religious symbolism meaning "of the cross" in French. Jackson knew what he was doing by adding this sense of religious symbolism without being blatantly obvious about it. These subtle but important aspects only further develop the story in a multitude of distinctive ways. When used correctly, literary concepts or techniques can have a considerable impact on the story, thus creating a substantial impact on the reader. We see this directly from Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery” as she uses concepts such as imagery and symbolism throughout her work. What we can deduce from this is that there are some advantages and disadvantages when using certain literary techniques. For example, when he painted the picture of the smooth round stones that Bobby Martin was stuffing in his pocket and based on the time period, we as readers could deduce that there would be no money in this lottery. Please note: This is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay. Savvy readers who are able to pick up on the contextual hints given throughout the story will be able to surmise that there would be stoning at the end of this lottery. Similar to music, any work that makes the individual think or feel something they didn't originally feel before experiencing their work is objectively good. One can have a subjective opinion on the subject, but if it takes the individual to a place they were not originally in before experiencing it, then they have done their job, therefore, making the work objectively better. Creativity enriches the experience of the individual who is experiencing it, thus improving the work. Works Cited Jackson, S. (1948). The lottery. The New Yorker, 27(26), 20-25. Kosenko, P. (2010). A reading of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Journal of Modern Literature, 33(3), 155-165. Leeming, D. A. (2013). Aeschylus' "Agamemnon" and "The Lottery": Disturbing the Universe. Literature and Theology, 27(1), 54-65. Mellard, J. M. (2011). Demonstrate the importance of ritual in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." English Short Story Journal, (56), 95-105.Oppenheimer, J. (2016). When Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" wasn't fiction. The New Yorker. Extracted from. 139-148)..