Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

The gruesome tale of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” showcased a dystopian society heavily dependent upon tradition. Throughout the short story, I saw instances where Jackson juxtaposed peace and violence. In fact, Jackson opened the short story with picturesque scenes of flowers, making the readers completely unaware of the violence that followed. When the narrator began by saying “the morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (216) the setting appeared peaceful and happy. At this point the readers were left in the dark, which was why the death of Tessie Hutchinson was a huge shock at the end. Furthermore, the children appeared

Additionally, the children of Mrs. Hutchinson showed excitement at not being picked but showed no emotion or pity as their mother was stoned to death. I found this part hard to comprehend, as I am very close with my mother and could not even imagine hurting her. Overall I saw the main message focus on the dangers of tradition, as tradition was symbolized by the black box. Other towns talked of giving up the lottery but Old Man Warner expressed his concerns, labeling the younger generation a “pack of crazy fools” (220). Even though some citizens expressed interest in the idea of change, no one ever spoke up as “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much as tradition as was represented by the black box” (217). The villager’s resistance to challenge tradition was highlighted as they were unwilling to change the black box, even as the box began to fall apart. The villagers conformed to tradition even though the lottery was not a positive experience for them. What I found repulsing was the standards women faced in society. Woman were viewed as inferior to their male counterparts where the men were expected to step up for the weak