Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

While customs and rituals are imperative to a civilization’s cultural uniformity, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson exemplifies the negative ramifications of blind adherence to tradition. Gathering together, the village draw slips of paper until one unlucky individual draws the slip with the black dot. The fate of the winner is a brutal stoning by their own friends and family. Despite the gruesome nature of the ceremony, the lottery remains as a pivotal tradition in the villager’s society. Strong adherence to tradition, lack of knowledge in regards to the original purpose of the ceremony, and desensitization to the ritual are the focal point of “The Lottery.” To begin, the village being portrayed in “The Lottery” places tradition as an integral

The villagers no longer question the reason behind conducting the lottery, nor do they feel the gravity of the event. One scene in particular involves Mr. Adams exclaiming that the village to the north of them were contemplating removing the lottery. In response, Old Man Warner refutes Mr. Adam’s claim by saying, “‘Pack of crazy fools,’...“Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them’” (Jackson) Implying that the youth are foolish and idiotic for having such notions, any opposition is thus linked with being insignificant. Old Man Warner then follows up his claim by saying, “There’s always been a lottery.” (Jackson) Lacking in substantial evidence, Old Man Warner’s appeal to tradition is met with resounding acceptance, bolstering the notion that tradition is the supreme force in their society. Furthermore, the stoning of Tessie Hutchison at the end of “The Lottery” further proves the fact that the village are in complete submission to tradition. Drawing the marked paper in the initial round of the lottery, the Hutchison family is then entered into the final round. Each member of the selected family must draw a slip of paper, only one will draw the slip of paper with the black dot. Unfortunately, Tessie draws the marked slip of paper. What follows is an incredibly gruesome scene involving a mob gathering up the stones, the boys had set aside, to bludgeon Tessie Hutchison to death. The only opposition posed was Tessie screaming, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (Jackson) The rebuttal was not made to address the arbitrary cruelness and senseless violence of the lottery or Tessie’s unfortunate fate, rather she did not believe she was given a fair chance to live. Tessie would have not raised so much as finger in objection had it been anyone else in the village. This is not to say Tessie is an