Blindly Following Traditions In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Throughout time, viewpoints and morals change in society. If one were to compare society today to society 100 years ago, they would find widespread belief in ideas that may not be as commonplace today. However, if society refuses to change every so often, people may become stuck in a destructive past state. While "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson does depict the dominance of men in the society, it also illustrates the dangers of blindly following tradition, and most prominently examines the duality of human nature.

Jackson utilizes subtle details, which are revealed through the dialogue between characters, in order to present the dominant role of men in the lottery. While Mr. Summers is setting up the lottery, he asks "some of you fellows want

During the set-up of the lottery, Jackson reveals to the reader that "there was a story that the present black box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here," which represents the lottery itself (1). While it is made up of bits and pieces of the original lottery, the current tradition that the villagers participate in is a completely different tradition that when it was first held, just like the box. This metaphor is included in order to elaborate on the idea that the villagers are following a tradition that is out of date for their time, as well as to hint at their disinterest in changing the gruesome ritual that they blindly follow. Moreover, Helen Nebeker's comments on this topic in "The Lottery': Symbolic Tour de Force" describe the lottery as "...old as the tripod of the Delphic oracle, as new as the Christian trinity. For that [The Stool] which supports the present day box of meaningless and perverted superstition is the body of u examined tradition or at least six thousand years of man's history" (3). In this excerpt, Nebeker relates the stool to the old and tainted tradition that is the basis of the lottery, which the villagers

This can be observed best through Jackson's description of the villagers right before the stoning: "Delacroix had selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands... Mrs. Dunbar had small stones in both hands... Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him" (5). Not only is the malicious side of the previously friendly villagers revealed here, but the rapid speed at which they turn on her is displayed. This sudden change in character helps the reader to visualize the duality of human nature, not just in the story, but in a more axiomatic sense as well. Carol Cleveland elaborates on this purpose in, "Shirley Jackson" by observing that "...the guilty are not the greedy or crazy individuals, but society itself acting collectively and purposefully, like a slightly preoccupied lynch mob... there are no ties of trust or dependence" (1). This idea delves much deeper into the duality of human nature theme by examining the fact that the people who killed Tessie Hutchinson were not the people you would expect to commit murder, but the people that she trusted and loved. The idea of mob psychology suggests that a crowd or mob can influence the "in the moment" thinking of an