摘 要

雪莉·杰克逊作为一名优秀的美国作家，被世人称为伟大的作家之一。《摸彩》是杰克逊的短篇小说代表作，因其恐怖情节而著名。目前，学者们分别从主题、意象、环境、女性主义和社会影响的角度分析该小说。本文将分析该小说中蕴含的替罪羊主题。

小说中，一个传统而神秘的仪式呈现在读者面前。在这个仪式中，村民会选出一个受害者或者说是替罪羊。这个替罪羊肩负着净化其他所有人罪恶和厄运同时带来好运和幸福的责任。替罪羊的发展过程贯穿全文，并引出中心思想，披露社会问题。

本文首先探讨替罪羊主题的来源、原型以及其在文学作品中的使用，然后分析文章中替罪羊的三个发展阶段。第一个阶段解释替罪羊存在的必要性和意义；第二个阶段讨论选择替罪羊的过程；第三个阶段分析处理替罪羊的方法。然后，本文揭露各个阶段中隐含的社会问题和矛盾：在第一阶段呈现当时的社会和经济背景，第二个阶段揭示替罪羊形象的共同点，第三阶段分析人性和社会矛盾。

最后，本文探讨和分析人类命运和自然环境这个永恒的话题间的关系和矛盾，揭露令人心寒的社会现象。替罪羊主题的分析不仅会丰富这篇小说的主题研究，还会提醒读者现实生活中存在的社会扭曲和人性黑暗。

关键词：《摸彩》；替罪羊；社会矛盾；丰收

Abstract

Shirley Jackson, as a short story writer, has always been regarded as one of the outstanding American writers. The Lottery is called her masterpiece and is famous for its gothic story. So far it has been widely studied and researched by scholars from the perspectives of its themes, images, environment, feminist ideas, and social impact. This paper will focus on exploring the theme of scapegoat in this story.

In the story, a traditional and mysterious rite is introduced and described. In the ritual, a victim or scapegoat will be selected to cleanse all the misfortunes or guilt and to bring back happiness and fortune for the community. The development of scapegoat goes through the whole story, eliciting the main idea and exposing social darkness.

This paper will analyze the theme of scapegoat from two levels. In the first level, the origin of scapegoat will be firstly explored from two aspects—the scapegoat archetype and the usage of it in literature works, followed by the analyses of the three stages of scapegoat. The first stage studies the necessity of the scapegoat's existence; the second stage discusses the process of selecting the scapegoat; and the third stage puts forward the solution of tackling the scapegoat. In the second level, the paper will explore the meanings and social problems behind those three stages. The social and economic backgrounds will be presented in the first stage; the characteristics that typical scapegoats have in common will come to light in the second stage. And human nature and social problems will be revealed and scrupulously analyzed in the third stage.

Finally, the eternal and conflicting relationships between human beings’ fate and social environment will be further analyzed and discussed. And the dismal and unpleasant social problems will also be unveiled. So the analyses about the theme of scapegoat will not only enrich the perspectives appreciating this story but also remind readers of the same social problems and human weakness existing in the then social reality.

Key Words: The Lottery; scapegoat; social problems; harvest

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Shirley Jackson and her Works 1

1.2 Literature Review 1

1.3 Scapegoat in Literary Works 2

2 The Necessity of the Scapegoat 5

2.1 The History of Selecting a Victim 5

2.2 The Reasons of Choosing a Victim 5

3 The Process of Selecting the Scapegoat 8