Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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. Through the portrayal and dialogue of the characters, Jackson manages to show just how the lottery is organized

“Some people have already quit lotteries...nothing but trouble in that...Pack of young fools”

This old man is a prime example of those who blindly follow tradition and religion. Due to him being born into this tradition, he is led to believe that it is something that should always be followed, and is disgusted at those who do not do the same. Even though he himself can be the next to be chosen, he fully supports the lottery and takes any measure to ensure that the tradition continues even past his death. Many instances, those who strictly follow their beliefs end up being ignorant towards anything else. Old Man Warner chooses to avoid the fact that change is possible and that younger generations will choose whether they continue tradition or not. When being told that in other town lotteries have been ended, he argues that they are fools and that “they’ll be wanting to live in caves..” This shows Jackson use of irony. When thinking of those who live in caves, we think of neanderthals; savage, grunting humans. However, through the killing of a citizen, THEY are shown to be the true savages, not the ones who decided to end the lottery. The one individual who was revealed to be the one to be stones, would soon see the end of their