The main point of the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is that blindly following traditions can be very dangerous. Jackson makes this point through the use of symbolism through the townspeople’s names. Jackson draws attention to certain characters and their names, such as stating that Delacroix is pronounced “Dellacroy.” Delacroix is French for of the cross and references Jesus dying on the cross. Delacroix suggests that the true meaning of the Lottery is to sacrifice one of the people. Another significant name is Old Man Warner. It is Old Man Warner’s “seventy-seventh time” participating in the Lottery. The Lottery has been going on for such a long that “much of the ritual has been forgotten.” The fact that even Old Man Warner
