“Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay.” (Jiddu Krishnamurti) This quote directly relates to the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson as the plot of the story revolves around the tradition that has been obtained throughout the years despite it being barbaric. When a ritual is engrained into a society it becomes the means by which they abide by even though there may be a disconnect from its origins. The tradition of the lottery enables the villagers to justify their behaviour as the tradition of it continues on from older generations to younger generations.The tradition is entrenched within the villagers, represented by the black box, that they continue to participate in the stoning without thinking …show more content…
Mr. Summers is able to represent this as he “spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box…Mr. Summers began again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done.” (Jackson,451) Mr. Summers is able to display that even a slight change of tradition is unacceptable in his society and his thought seems to be subtly presented in order to not offend the villagers and their ineradicable tradition. This “fading off” is able to represent the rejection of change compared to the other more forward thinking villages that view this tradition as dated. Mr and Mrs Adams are as well able to represent those willing to question tradition rather than blindly following it. Old Man Warner, who’s name denotes his resistance to change, disregards this notion when Mrs. Adams states, “Some places have already quit lotteries,”(454) followed by Old Man Warner describing this as troublesome and exclaiming, “Pack of young fools”(454) The black box was important as the symbol of this tradition even though “the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box,” (457) yet they continue to use it as their …show more content…
The children are first introduced to the reader with a sense of innocence,”while before the broke into boisterous play”(450), as the reader is unaware of what is to come. Bobby Martin has already been taught what to do, and therefore the other boys mimic his actions. Although this is stated at the beginning of the story, this is the pinnacle for passing on tradition through the generations. When starting young, children are able to be led blindly as they are uninformed of where it truly came from. This forms a habit in which they become comfortable with and becomes their realm of normalcy unable to question wether or not is right considering it is