Questioning Traditions Traditions can be part of one 's culture but should they be changed? The author’s purpose is to make the reader’s question some traditions. In the story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, uses tone and mood to make the reader question the tradition of stoning people. In the story, “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseni uses person vs person conflict to make the reader question the tradition of calling unwanted kids harami. In the story, “2BR02B” by Kurt Vonnegut, uses person vs society conflict to make the reader question the tradition of population control.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” examines human traditions and the way humans cling to them without necessary probable reasons. The villagers fear of letting go there traditions. Two elements that illustrate the theme of the fading tradition in “The Lottery” are the black box and Old Man Warner. The black box functions as a symbol for the decaying tradition of the lottery.
“The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, is a short story about how villagers from a small town partake in a cruel tradition. They believe that they will have a bountiful harvest if they sacrifice one of their own. Throughout this story there is symbolism that shows how the tradition is kept, their fear of change, and things to come. This is shown through objects, dialogue, and even names. The villagers’ fear of the unknown stops them from changing this tradition, so it becomes a norm in their society.
Tradition plays a vital role in shaping our cultural identity and is often passed down from previous generations. However, there is a difference between following tradition for its cultural significance and blindly adhering to it. The effect of blindly following tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackson's short story “The Lottery.” In the story, a small village follows an annual tradition of sacrificing one of their own through a lottery. Despite the morally wrong nature of the tradition, the community prioritizes preserving their cultural heritage over the well-being of its own individuals.
The Lottery: Winner Loses All Envision a summer day in a quaint, peaceful town full of flowers and green grass. Everyone participates in a town meeting in this picturesque village, where flowers bloom, and families enjoy each other's company. However, there is a catch: one random person will be stoned to death on the town square. " The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, explains this dark and sinister story, first painting a picture of a charming, tight-knit community. Jackson continues, explaining that every year, the townspeople participate in an event known as "The Lottery.
In “The Lottery” by “Shirley Jackson,” we are introduced by the author telling us about some of the society's’ traditions such as ‘The Lottery.’ The lottery is an ancient tradition that has been going on for several years in this small village. They each pick a slip of paper which determines if they have won the lottery or not. This lottery is not like most but, let's just say it’s not a very rewarding prize. By the end of the story, the reader can see that hurting others is never entertainment.
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.
The short story “The Lottery” is written by Shirley Jackson. This story takes place in a small village where everybody knows each other. In this story all the villagers gather around town for their annual lottery. Everyone in the village is compelled to follow this tradition even if the outcome ends up with someone dying. In “The Lottery”, Shirley Jackson uses conflict, theme, and irony to develop this suspenseful short story.
In her story "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson implies the negative consequences of blindly following tradition through the acceptance, by the villagers, of the tradition of the lottery. Jackson suggests that the people of the village are afraid to give up the little tradition they have, even if it is not good. Every year after the lottery, the conductor of the lottery, Mr. Summers suggests that they should build a new box but, “No one [likes] to upset even as much tradition as [is] represented by the box.” (Jackson, 1). The black box symbolizes ritual and tradition.
Abby Conlon Gilchrist English 1102 9 April 2023 “The Lottery” Lotteries can be defined in many different ways; the common theme between them is that within a community, someone becomes chosen. Today's most typical lottery is lottery tickets at the grocery store and gas stations. It's a common addiction today because people are money-hungry. Everyone wants to win the money and be chosen. A more negative and life-threatening version of this is shown in the Vietnam War in 1969 when they held drafts where all eligible men were required to participate, and the men chosen were sent to war.
The villagers on “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson are afraid to let go of their tradition, the lottery. They are concern of unknown consequences that will happen if they change their old customs. So, for every year, the villagers gather at the square to do the lottery at 10 AM . The villagers are afraid to quit their outdated tradition because they think that changing their old customs will only bring trouble.
“The Lottery”, a short story by Shirley Jackson, is about a lottery that takes place in a small village. The story starts off with the whole town gathering in the town square, where Mr. Summers holds the lottery. Once everyone gathers, every family draws a slip of paper out of an old black box, and the family with the black mark on their paper gets picked. After that, each family member older than 3 years of age re-draws a slip of paper again and this time, the person with the black mark on their paper gets picked as the “lucky winner” of the lottery. In this short story, after the Hutchinson family gets drawn, Tessie Hutchinson is declared “winner” of the lottery, with her reward is being stoned to death.
Historically, in every culture, important practices exist which transmit traditional values to subsequent generations as traditions is a critical piece of our culture. They help developing and moulding the attitudes and characters of humans, forming the structure and foundation of families and our society. Notwithstanding, many traditions promote social unity and coherent, some traditions erode the integrity, psychological and physical health of individuals as can be seen in the story “The Lottery” writer by Shirley Jackson. In the story, head of the families take a lot in choosing the family that going to sacrifice one of the family members to increase the crop yield. Furthermore, the story “Looking for Rain God” written by Bessie Head reflects the belief in traditional practices, resulting in merciless death of two children.
Of the religions we have studied Taoism and Buddhism share the most connected history. Both religions have a great deal influence over many eastern countries, especially China. They both express a need and pursuit of virtue, wisdom, and a correct way to live life. They share the use of temples and shrines for worship and have many monasteries all over the world. Neither religion focuses on belief and worship of an all knowing presence in favor of a pursuit of greater self while acknowledging that the Gods are just higher life forms and not exactly deities.
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.
