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The Negative Consequences Of Tradition In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

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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. This quote reveals how firmly rooted the villagers are to this tradition and how menacing they find the idea of change. The villagers take such pride in the ritual of the lottery …show more content…

The tradition of the lottery has been carried out for so long in this village that nobody even knows the reason for its occurring in the first place and nobody questions it. When Old Man Warner, the oldest man in the village, is told about other villages giving up the tradition of the lottery, he says that they are, “[A] pack of crazy fools [...]. There [has] always been a lottery [...]” (Jackson, 4). There is no reason why there has always been a lottery except that every year on June 27th, they held the lottery. Old Man Warner conveys the idea that the lottery is essential for the villages progress. Accordingly, this statement speaks to the importance of a useless and harmful practice in the minds of the villagers. The murderous tradition of the lottery is a normality for all the villagers, especially the children and displays their blind acceptance of an idle practice. When the winner of the lottery, Tessie Hutchinson, is revealed, “ The children already [have] stones. And [...] Davy Hutchinson [is given] a few pebbles.” (Jackson, 7). The villagers will not break the ancient tradition even though they do not have the original paraphernalia nor do they know the reason for this

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Within this source it has a list of sub headings that cover symbolic meaning of the lottery, the lottery box, stoning and considering the authors background. The sub heading about the author Shirley Jackson provides me with some very crucial information around the long standing traditions of what the whole story really meant and the back ground of the author when she wrote this short story. Ironically Shirley Jackson was a women during the 1948 period in America. Which began to part the puzzle for me on the ideologies used in the story that contrasted America at that present time. For e.g. whether it was segregation, the lack of free voting rights or any of the many other traditions which still exist primarily because they have always existed.

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The world is currently affected by the foulest illness of all: conformity. Many people are nervous to stray away from tradition in fear of being an outcast, even if that means following customs like racism and sexism, which causes chaos among the country. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” displays this morbid reality when a town of villagers gathers to obey their annual tradition. Although this event appears at first to be pleasant and festive, it soon becomes clear that the prize is not something of value. The “winner”, it turns out, will be stoned to death.

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The Lottery Template Topic Sentence: One can see by examining the symbolism of the worn out black box, and the foreshadowing of the children putting rocks in their pockets in the The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, that this story is a classic archetypal horror story. Argument: Firstly, one can see that when Mr. Summers arrived at the square carrying a black wooden box, he asked the villagers if anyone would give him a hand with putting the box on the three- legged stool, however, many hesitated to come near the black box, a symbolic twist that foreshadows the imminent ending. The black box has been used for generations, even before the oldest villager. It has been said that the current box was made from the pieces of the

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The Dangers of Following Traditions Blindly Why do people follow authorities and traditions blindly without reflecting upon what they are doing? The two short stories, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and Examination Day by Henry Slesar, are perfect examples of societies that don’t question what they are doing because killing a person is rather an uncivilized and barbaric act. People will often be cruel when following traditions, beliefs, religion, or authorities. Thus, in the two short stories The Lottery and Examination Day, the authors are indirectly warning the reader about the dangers of not questioning authorities or traditions, and how we tend to be sheep that simply follow and don’t question.

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Shirley Jackson's, “The Lottery,” portrays the tradition of a small town in which a member of the community must get sacrificed in order to allow for a good agricultural season. The ways in which they do so is a fair lottery where citizens draw and see if they are the “chosen one” which they end up stoning to death. All citizens must partake in the lottery, including children and the elderly. Through Jackson’s development of the story, the people seem to be in a state of excitement and thrill when being part of the lottery. The citizens are constantly gossiping, laughing, and kids playing, waiting to see who is next to be stoned.

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The appeal to tradition clearly affects the truth of the horrendous tradition of the Lottery. The Lottery by Jackson shows the appeal to accept insanity because of tradition and respecting those that have long participated in the insanity can make you a victim of the insanity. Old Man Warner (the luckiest lottery winner in town) voices his defense of a town tradition which a few attempt to challenge with examples of other towns, but Warner rejects any change by a “pack of young fools,” with pride of his seventy-seventh lottery. Jackson explains how the tradition has survived over time and shows the pride and obligation of the people to follow the tradition without considering the consequences. The children are excited and eagerly participate

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Old Man Warner said, “There’s an old saying, Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” (pg.22, Line 260-270) Old Man Warner, the oldest inhabitant in the community, has lived to see 77 years of the lottery. This quote illustrates how the community cares more about their daily income than the people. It seems that they value the crops and money. In the context of the quote, two characters are talking about stopping the lottery, and one has claimed that it is foolish to stop the lottery, that one person’s life isn’t worth compared to the survival of the village.

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Throughout centuries, traditions and rituals have had the ability to control one’s behavior. In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, she tells the reader of a small village. On the surface, this community may seem relatively normal. However, despite the picturesque appeal, this falsely serene village has a distinct deceitful flaw. On June 27th, every year, a lottery takes place.

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Traditions have been sought after and passed on for generations; with no questions asked, whether humane or not, traditions are hard to break and diminish as they are often what a culture or community stands for. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”, a story about the tradition of a small village, is painted in impeccable details of peace, and serenity on a warm summer day, as everyone follows the tradition they have known since a long time ago despite the true intentions and meaning of it forgotten. The Lottery taking place annually is like no other lottery, it paints the true picture of the horror that epitomizes the tradition that none of the villagers dare to question, despite it creating separation between gender and families and ruining

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Even though the box should be replaced, the idea of moving against tradition is unthinkable for the townspeople, and thus, year after year, the same run down box is used for the lottery. The philosophical control of tradition is cemented deep into the minds of every citizen, so deep that nobody takes the initiative to fix a simple problem. Thus, the tradition continues in the exact same manner every year, as the townspeople do not make any effort to question or logically reason their inability to replace the box. Moreover, this lack of critical thinking is also applicable to the lottery itself. The lottery is not a typical one, in that the winner of the lottery does not win anything, aside from being stoned to death by his or her neighbors, but such an abhorrent process seems to be perfectly acceptable by the townspeople.

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The Symbolism of The Lottery One big symbol that the short story is discreet about is the black box that is repeated throughout the short story symbolizes fear to adults which could affect even the most innocent. The black box appears to be the only paraphernalia that is still being used in the tradition of having a lottery. Mr. Summers is the one who is running the lottery at the time. Mr. Summers is seen as a nice man, however, when he is introduced, he is seen with the black box. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses the black box as a symbol to convey an underlying message that when the power of a tradition is given to a person, it could lead a crumbling society.

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Full of plot twists, and turns, “The Lottery” relies on its characters to convey a sense of normalcy throughout a majority of the story. The villagers’ acceptance of rituals allows them to act normal while knowingly partaking in a deadly tradition. Jackson’s brilliant use of deceptiveness leaves readers blind sighted as one could never predict this story’s outcome. Jackson’s work is renowned because of its unpredictable shift in tone. June 27, may appear to be a pleasant summer day, but this prediction could not be further from the truth.

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Symbols such as the black box meaning the towns loyalty to the lottery ritual, to the lottery ritual itself representing tradition, the short story is brimming with hidden elements that are bursting out of the seams of what is Shirley Jacksons' famous short

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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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They do not want to follow the other towns that had given up the lottery. The townspeople are apprehensive of transition because of the unknown factors. One of the examples in the story that shows their lack of willingness to change their customs is the battered black box they use for the lottery. It has been stained and the original color of the wood is shown on the side. Every year, Mr. Summers, who manages the lottery suggests to the villagers to get a new box.

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