45 pages • 1 hour read
Marissa StapleyLucky
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Lottery Ticket
The central symbol in the novel is Lucky’s winning lottery ticket. It represents luck and hope. At the beginning of the novel, Lucky purchases it in a small Idaho town near the Nevada border and carries it with her while she is on the run from the law. She soon discovers that she picked the winning numbers, and she tries to keep the ticket safe. Lucky can’t claim her winnings while a fugitive, reinforcing that the ticket represents hope rather than concretely providing a new life immediately.
Several other characters desire to have the lottery ticket because it fuels their hopes for a better life. When Lucky fears that Priscilla will steal her ticket, Lucky hides it in the smoke detector of a storage unit. However, she tells Gloria about the ticket while drunk. When she wakes up, “[i]t was gone” (198). After Gloria steals the ticket, Priscilla steals it from her. With the help of her actual mother, Valerie, Lucky is able to recover the ticket from Priscilla (who also can’t cash it due to the FBI case against her). At this point, it is described in detail: “It was hers. She recognized it immediately: the numbers, and every little mark, every little rip, all the evidence of the journey she had taken with it” (230). This detail suggests that the life Lucky hoped for is finally attainable.
Gold Crucifix
Another important symbol that Lucky carries with her throughout her life is the crucifix that Sister Margaret Jean gave to John. He lies, referring to it as the “necklace from your mom” (92). This causes it to symbolize Lucky’s quest to meet her biological mother. The crucifix also represents the “idea of having faith, of being good” (86). When Lucky meets Gloria—whom John claims is Lucky’s mother—Gloria’s confusion over the crucifix results in Lucky learning that she is not Gloria’s daughter. In Part 2, Lucky and John visit the church where John found her as an infant. Sister Margaret Jean recognizes the crucifix and contacts Lucky’s biological mother, Valerie.
Books
Lucky is characterized throughout the novel as an avid reader with a love for books. As a 10-year-old, she enjoys reading “The Elegant Universe” (12), and as a teenager, she enjoys reading “Lucia Berlin short stories” (114). Lucky rarely gets to attend school, and mostly has to steal books from libraries. Books represent the possibility of a different life. In a literal sense, her knowledge of books helps her to pass both the high school equivalency exam and the SAT. Following that, her love of books helps her get into the University of San Francisco. Books symbolize Lucky’s desire for a crime-free life and her work towards such a life.
