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Individuality In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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Ibn Khaldun once wrote, “Blindly following ancient customs and traditions does not mean that the dead are alive, but that the living are dead.” When humans mindlessly adhere to rituals that span centuries, they begin to forget the true meaning behind the performed practice, leading to the death of individuality. In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the townspeople become so accustomed to participating in the lottery that they no longer question its existence or wish to alter its negative consequences. The development of the characters, the main points in the plot, and the usage of symbolism throughout the story portray the theme of dangerously following tradition without knowing its origins. The characters’ responses during the lottery illustrate the significance of the roles of conformity, hypocrisy, and perpetuity in the theme. …show more content…

Her forgetfulness emphasizes that the lottery does not hold any regard for her, proving that, like the other townspeople, she also complies with this tradition. However, her demeanor shifts when reality sets in, and her name gets selected as she yells: “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 8). Until Tessie Hutchinson experiences the ritual’s repercussions, she does not question the righteousness of the practice. Her fear of dying as a “sacrifice” makes her hypocrisy become known, along with the peril of ignorantly heeding a long-established custom. Another character, Old Man Warner, represents the history of the lottery and the reluctance for change. For instance, when he hears talk of a nearby town eliminating the observance of the lottery, he asserts phrases such as “pack of young fools” and “nothing but trouble in that” (Jackson 5). Because he has been a part of the lottery for a long time, Old Man Warner wants to keep this tradition permanent. His

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In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," two characters stand out amidst the unsettling ritual: Tessie Hutchinson and Old Man Warner. Tessie, initially portrayed as a typical villager, transforms when her family is chosen for the sacrificial stoning. She embodies resistance against blind tradition, challenging the lottery's cruelty and unfairness. Her outcry, "It isn't fair, it isn't right," epitomises defiance against the town's ingrained customs, highlighting the dangers of conformity. On the other hand, Old Man Warner represents staunch adherence to tradition.

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Explication of “The Lottery” In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” in the final paragraphs the character Tessie is the winner of the lottery which ironically means she will be getting stoned. The author uses theme of the story to display how traditions are blindly followed for centuries even if they lack any meaning to them at all. She uses several metaphors and allusions throughout the story to convey this message. The significance of the paragraph is even though they do not remember the originally ritual of the lottery yet they do not forget to follow and participate in it every year.

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Old Man Warner is responsible for Tessie’s death because he is an elder with a large influence on the town, but does not speak up. the idea of the lottery in his view is not a bad thing. While conversing with Mr. Adam, Old Man Warner called the people in the north “Pack of crazy fools” when Mr.Adam told him that the people in the north are considering to give up the lottery. In another event, Old man Warner tells the town “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery… Seventy-seventh time.”

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The Danger of Tradition Traditionally many ancient societies would kill their people to sacrifice to God in order to obtain rain or a good harvest. These mindlessly, followed traditions were never critically thought about and therefore citizens died year after year. A similar tragedy occurs in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. This story features a civilization much like our own but with one small difference, the town’s people hold a lottery every year and the town stones who ever loses to death.

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When a person experiences a one thing enough time, eventually, they will become desensitize to it. People can become used to inhumane things such as death and murder if it is entrenched sufficiently into their lives. For instance, in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the tradition of a community brutally murders a member of their town due to an insensible tradition, when the victims challenge the morality of the ritual, the community shows no remorse including her victim husband, dehumanizing the

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In the story, “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, the greatest human failing as far as Jackson is concerned is humanity following tradition thoughtlessly without questioning why it happens allowing for unnecessary violence to take place. This is demonstrated in “The Lottery” through many aspects and specific details. Firstly, the calmness of the atmosphere expresses how the people of the village view this day as a normal happening showing that they are following this ritual without thinking about the tragic outcome it causes. Secondly, the use of characters illustrates how the villagers are so blinded by this tradition that no one understands the harm that is occurring from this tradition and the actual reasons behind the lottery itself. And

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“The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and bank, around 10 o’clock” (Jackson 1). The Lottery, created by Shirley Jackson, is a story that holds an abundance of symbolic ideas. The author uses symbolism to represent human nature as stigmatized, no matter if one thinks themselves or their environment as pure. The story clearly expresses the authors feelings governing the evil of mankind, which hides behind rituals and traditions. The Lottery is effective in creating questions about the senselessness of humanity concerning tradition and violence.

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Jackson shows how people might do things they know are wrong just to fit in with the group. The villagers’ participation in the lottery is driven more by fear of breaking away from the collective norm than by a belief in its necessity. This is clear when Tessie Hutchinson protests the lottery only after she is chosen as the "winner." The scholarly journal notes that "the villagers' participation is almost automatic—'actors' anxious to return to their mundane, workaday lives" (Griffin). The way Tessie’s friends and family turn on her at the end shows how strong social pressure can be.

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Adam’s and Old Man Warner’s discussion about the idea of giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner states that “there’s always been a lottery” (Jackson 142). The inference of Old Man Warner’s words and tone suggests that there will always be a lottery, and that it should always remain, that it is wrong to question its existence. Given the violent nature of the lottery’s results and its enduring tradition throughout generations of participants, each succeeding generation obviously grows accustom to the violence and brutality it calls for. The children, for example, readily prepare for the occasion by amassing “a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and [guarding] it” (Jackson 139).

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Many people would die to win the lottery; in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson you would do anything NOT to win this lottery. This annual lottery reveals the negative aspects of this town’s Tradition, Savagery, Barbarism, and cold-heartedness. In this paper I will show why this town blindly follows these customs, not because it’s a tradition but because of the accepting wickedness that can be shown. Why does the town follow this foolish tradition? Throughout “The Lottery” the narrator tells that the people do not remember how the lottery began, and that some of the older people believe the lottery has changed over the years, that now people just want to get it over with as fast as possible.

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At a time when basic religious beliefs and traditions were being questioned by academia, author Shirley Jackson penned a poignant attack against those who blindly accepted values and traditions in her short story, “The Lottery.” The Lottery is presented as an event that has always occurred throughout the region's history without any opposition. Nonchalantly, the entire village commits homicide at the finale. Finally, aspects of the traditional lottery evolved without notice or were forgotten by the villagers. Within “The Lottery,” author Shirley Jackson embeds the theme of blindly accepting traditions as illustrated by the actions of the villagers.

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