Gender Roles In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

The human societies are comprised of traditions, rituals, and ideologies. These customs and beliefs vary from one society to another. Since human psychology is complicated and tends to be cataclysmic in nature, it is necessary to draw the boundaries in the form of code of conduct and traditions. The people living in a society share these common values and adhere to the established norms. However, a common practice is that the people often stick to their old belief system and are reluctant to embrace change. This situation constitutes the theme of the short story The Lottery. This novel was published in 1948, an era where the gender and social roles were already defined, and any deviation was intolerable. The author Shirley Jackson faced several

A lottery is held every year and the person entitled for the lottery is stoned to death by the villagers. The practice has been continued for decades. Apparently, there is no logic of commencing that heinous activity, but since it is a long held tradition, the villagers are not ready to quit it. In a broader perspective “The lottery” symbolizes old beliefs, customs, and principals of the human societies around the world. The black box used for conducting the lottery also symbolizes the worn out dogmas and conventions which are perhaps no longer needed. The villagers instead keep the same black box for the lottery, which portrays their strong association with it. This scenario shows that the people become emotionally involve with the traditions they had been following for a long time and hence feel uncomfortable in rejecting

These only make the lives of people worse. People need to question validity of their societal standards. This will not only enhance their quality of life, but also will help the future generations from suffering through the similar turmoil. The world is like the village mentioned in the story and the behavior of the people is similar to the behavior of the villagers. They stick to their long held beliefs and traditions in the name of religion, culture, ethnic orientation, pride, self- esteem, and various other factors. However, they fail to realize that their actions cause much trouble to others especially when they act like cattle in flock guided by distinct beliefs and cultures. They should realize that they are humans gifted with wisdom which they should utilize to make this world a better place for everyone. In order to get a thriving social life, people need to change their thinking