COMPARING THEME AND SYMBOLISM

Described as "a thoroughly chilling and unsettling story" (Porter), The Lottery was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948. In a letter to poet Howard Nemerov, she wrote, "...I have always loved to use fear...I delight in what I fear" (Guran).
James Joyce was "born into a well-off Catholic family in Dublin, Ireland" (Barger). He later rejected Catholicism in favor of literature (Barger).
Theme and symbolism are prevalent in the writings of both these authors. The plots are easy to follow, and yet they are very different.
In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, the main theme is how traditions t…