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Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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Most people know the lottery as a contest to win money. But in the short story, “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson, the lottery is not a simple game competing for money. In this small village’s version of the lottery, everyone must draw out of a box, and if their family is chosen then the whole family must redraw and the death of a member is decided. After the fate is decided, the rest of the village throws stones at him or her until he or she dies. The villages reasoning of this process is they believe it guarantees a plentiful crop season. Many people in the village have fluctuating opinions with this violent tradition, and it has created tension within the village. The people of the village do not want to risk the growth of the crops, therefore, they will not question if killing someone is the right or wrong thing to do in order to grow crops and not starve. …show more content…

The oldest man around is Old Man Warner who is 77 years old. Warner hears “young folks” in the village discussing about getting rid of the lottery and altering the tradition. He does not want to alter this tradition because he believes it truly helps crop growth.Because he is old, he has been cemented in his ways of supporting the tradition. Because Warner has no family, ha may have the msot to lose; if his name is chosen, he automatically dies. He is a very opinionated man and does not hold back from voicing his thoughts to the people in the crowd around him. Most of the village is aware that Warner thinks it is a horrible idea to get rid of this annual

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The use of the word lottery makes the reader think that the towns people are drawing for a prize. The “prize” being that the person to win, actually loses their life. Old Man Warner hears that the towns people are entertaining the though of ending the lottery and he says, ”Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves “ (240). The irony of this is that the lottery itself is as primitive a l practice as that of people living in

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There is no authoritative leader, and they do not attempt to bring others into their own belief system; however, the townspeople strongly disapprove of voicing an opposite opinion and will respond accordingly. Having a different opinion in this town could possibly- or not- result in the death of the divergent. Because of this unknown, the townspeople, except Tessie, keep their opinions to themselves; they do not want to be stoned like the person drawn from the lottery. In addition to the fear of capital punishment, the deadly ritual is said to bring a good harvest. This kind of superstition is congruent with that within a cult.

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The townsfolk are completely blinded by the traditionalism and the upkeep of the ritual tradition to break from it. For example, Old Man Warren is the only one left in his family, since all others have died as a result of the lottery. In such case, one of thinking that this would make a person feel hatred and wish for it to end. However, Old Man Warner feelings are the exact opposite and wish for it to continue (Jackson pg. 3-4).

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He dismisses the people of the town who have stopped the lotteries as crazy fools, and he is threatened by the idea of change. He believes that people who are trying to stop the lottery will start living in caves because as though only the lottery keeps society stable. Old Mar Warner fears that if the lottery was stopped, the people will be forced to eat acorns. These illogical and irrational fears reveal that Old Man Warner harbored a strong belief in what to come in the future. He easily accepts the way things are because they have been always like this for such a long time, and trying to change it will lead to some kind of disaster.

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In the short story, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the characters have a different type of normal. June 27, lottery day, marks the day of the death of an innocent person. As I read this story, I was very puzzled. This story made me think about the death of a person, whether be young or old, liked or disliked. The death on lottery day was thought to be normal in these towns, but it was not normal to me.

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In the story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson; the author believes that following traditions and rituals blindly can lead to bad results. First of all, the disadvantage of following a tradition is that it can create violence and unknowingly distribute the thought of guilt between the people of society. For example, when a person’s name is picked out from the raffle, it’s in their tradition to start throwing stones at the unlucky person thoughtlessly. This also generates the eagerness to hurt the individual. Besides, the family members of the victim are not allowed to defy the society and dispute.

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Imagine a society where killing somebody for the sake of a tradition is acceptable. In the short story “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson describes an ordinary village with normal people, but as the story progress the details of their yearly practice known as “the lottery” unravels to be more disturbing. The author subverts the readers’ expiations by persuading the reader into assuming “the lottery” is a ordinary tradition until unusual details and the behavior of the characters come into place. In her short story “The Lottery,” Jackson seemingly uses ordinary details about the setting and the townspeople to characterize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, and may appear so, it is inherently barbaric.

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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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Is the murder of innocent children or adults justified as long as it follows tradition? In The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, villagers have and annual lottery which calls for the stoning of a local villager for no reason other than traditional beliefs and made up opinions. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” customs passed down from generation to generation could lead to corrupt and poor decisions. Many cultures have different traditions passed on to each generation. The people of that culture can decide which ones they want to follow and which they don’t.

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Tradition is a sacred way to pass down the customs or beliefs of one generation to another. It is sometimes used to celebrate certain occasions, pay tribute, or remember the fallen. But in some cases, it can be used to sate the deep dark thoughts humans keep hidden inside them. For example, in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, it is common to hold a lottery annually in every town. At first, it sounds like a chance to get lucky and win some serious cash.

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In the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson every year on June 27th the village of 300 people gather in the town square and attend the lottery. The lottery in their town isn't like the lottery we have today because if a person gets the black spot on their paper they will get stoned to death. The purpose of the lottery is that it has been a tradition for many years and they want to keep the tradition going. First of all, in the short story the oldest man in town who is 80 years old and supports the lottery the most is Old Man Warner.

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Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, carries a powerful message about environmental factors, and how these factors shape human behavior. In Jackson’s story, the people live in a rural setting. The beautiful nature surrounds the tiny village where only three hundred people reside. Here, there are no filthy streets. Yet, in such a small, claustrophobic environment, it appears the villagers cannot exist without a yearly tradition.

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In the short story, “The Lottery”, written by Shirley Jackson, Edgar Award Winner for best short story, the plot mainly surrounds tradition. The small village in the story is preparing for their annual “lottery”. The author uses dialogue to convey the fact that this lottery has been a tradition in their village for many years. The reader soon realizes the dark turn on this lottery. The “winner” suffers the fate of being brutally stoned to death by the rest of the villagers.

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Shirley Jackson: The Lottery When you think of a tradition what comes to mind? Perhaps it is linked with your family’s core values, beliefs, or has significant meaning. Specifically, traditions are beliefs passed down from generations, they are not declared righteous or sinful, why they were born or still exist. Why do people follow traditions so mindlessly without knowing the purpose of it?

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The villagers are reluctant to give up their beliefs because they think that they might lose their distinction that separates them from others. Old Man Warner strongly disapproves of people who want to quit the lottery. He says, “There’s always been a lottery”3 so for him, these people are “crazy.”4 However, for the readers, his reluctance means that he is afraid to change his place within the society. He has gained the title of Old Man not only because he is the oldest man in the village but he has also been in the lottery for 77 years.

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