Paraphernalia For The Lottery Essay

Mr. Summers frequently asks the villagers about making a new box, but “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box… Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything being done.” (Jackson). This quote shows just how reluctant the townspeople are to change anything. It almost seems as if they’re scared of what could happen. Another good example of their reluctance is, “"Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery."” (Jackson). Warner says this about a neighboring town in the north that wants to get rid of their lottery. His remark about ‘lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’ can be interpreted as the lottery is the reason why these people have

by its unusual ending. The story starts in a unreal world without any relate The phenomenon which occurred in “The Lottery” relates to our real lives, it mocks our social relationships through the unique plot. The story reminds readers to think of their daily interactions and reflects the lack of democracy. Shirley used the conflict between different things to show defects of humanity. Trough Jackson’s story, she tells us a old, traditional village tradition—the lottery. Every year the village will draw villagers to be the “lucky” one to be killed by stoning. Shirley used this simple story to allude modern Americans’ in reasonable rituals. In the story, the village seemed

?Most have become completely desensitized to the murderous rituals. In paragraph two, the children are so desensitized that they are actually enjoying themselves while they are collecting rocks as a sadistic prize for the lottery?s winner. Although they are very young they remember some aspects of the ritual. Bobby Martin stuffs his pockets full of stones as if it were money and not a murder weapon. Three of the villager?s children eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against raids of the other boys. The children know that they are

The overall theme the reader should take from this story is that blindly following a ritual or a tradition can be very dangerous. The townspeople are so caught up in this tradition that they are not realizing the effects and the damage it is creating the their society. Old man Warner is a very good example of this because the way he sees it there is no problem with the lottery. He believes that it would be detrimental if the town stopped holding these lotteries because the town would take a big step back and go back to primitive times. The reader may find this very ironic because the thought of having an annual human sacrifice for

A symbol of the lottery's ongoing legacy, the same box has been used for years. It was believed to be made from scraps of the original black box which fell apart through the course of its use. When the citizens are brought the idea that the box should be changed, the whole thing was let to pass. "Mr. Summers," the town's lottery official, "spoke frequently about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much as tradition as was represented by the black box." (Jackson 422) This illustrates the people are blind to the idea of even tampering with their sacred box. They have grown with the tradition and find discomfort in the idea of change. "Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything's being done." (Jackson 422) With the keyword "allowed," it illustrates the people's reaction by ignorance. Every year the suggestion is made, and every year the suggestion is purposely disregarded for the sake that their tradition be unchanged. There is a sense that should the box be changed, so should the lottery and it's purpose. "Some places already quit lotteries," Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly, "Pack of young fools." (Jackson 425) This illustrates the beliefs of a majority. Old Man Warner being the oldest man in the town was looked upon

In Shirley Jackson’s  “The Lottery”, There is an annual lottery game in this village on June 27th of every year, this lottery is a ritual that has been in the village for long since, everyone in the village would gather at the time square to participate in it. Mr.Sumner, the lottery official will then brings out the black box and declared the lottery open and states all the rules, “Now, I’ll read the names--heads of families first--and the men com out and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has had a turn. Everything clear?” (BBR 93). One of this papers will have a black spot that is put on by the coal company owner, whoever gets the spotted paper with the black dot wins the lottery and will be stoned to death.

Despite the crudeness and evil of the Lottery, the village has established a set of elaborate rules that they follow to the letter right down to who is supposed to draw from the box and who is responsible for the families responsible. The village is also based on a Patriarchal system since teenage boys are given priority over their mothers when it comes to participation.

In the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a village has just entered the month of June, meaning that the lottery is to begin. When everyone was present, the heads of the households’ names were called one by one to pick up a slip of paper. It was then discovered that the

The shabby black box symbolizes the deterioration of ritual itself. The original of the box loses long time ago, and no one is sure that the black present box actually makes from the original box’s pieces. This proves the ritual also loses and nobody in the village knows the real meaning of the ritual they are practicing every year. The villagers do not care about the box’s appearance; the color fades, and they put the box all in different places. The townspeople seem to take pride in the ritual of the lottery but the box that represents the ritual is not respected. They do not even think of replacing it. There is no good and logical reason for them to keep holding the lottery because the lottery itself has lost the meaning long time ago, and the only thing left is cruelty. In one of the paragraphs, the narrator tells how the townspeople talk about the official of the lottery, “some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching” (257). The lottery really changed with time. The townspeople changed few things because they believe those things are no longer necessary and needed. However, the brutal ritual is the one they should discard but they keep holding it. In another paragraph, the narrator says, “Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generation” (256-257). The story’s third person point of view is successful proving that although lots of the rituals, songs, salute, the black box and wood chips of the lottery have been changed, forgotten or discarded over times, the townspeople still hold the cruel ritual firmly without logical reason. They have no idea what rules they should follow and which should be discarded. This

In The Lottery Old Man Worner profusely argued the tradition of the lottery when others suggest other villages gave up the lottery. "There's always been a lottery" (page 31 line 200) "Nothing but trouble in that" (page 31 line 203) The old generation still holds the value of conducting the lottery and when other view points, perhaps more rational thinking in today's times could change the way the village does things.

there is quiet conversation between friends. Mr. Summers, who runs the lottery, arrives with a black box. The original box was lost many years ago, even before Old Man Warner, the oldest person in the village, can remember. Each year Mr. Summers suggests that they make a new box, but no one is willing to go against tradition. The people were willing to use slips of paper instead of woodchips as markers, as the village had grown too large for the wood chips to fit in the box. A list of all the families and households in the village is made, and several matters of who will draw for each family are decided. Mr. Summers is sworn in as the official of the lottery in a specific ceremony. Some people remember that there used to be a song and salute as part of the ceremony, but these are no longer performed. Tessie Hutchinson arrives in the square late because she has forgotten what day it was. She joins her husband and children before the lottery can begin. Mr. Summers explains the lottery’s rules: each family will be called up to the box and draw a slip of paper. One of the villagers tells Old Man Warner that the people of a nearby village are thinking about ending the lottery. Old Man Warner laughs at the idea. He believes that giving up the lottery would cause nothing but trouble, and a loss of civilized behavior. A woman responds that some places have already given up the lottery. Everyone finishes drawing, and each

The town members can no longer remember exactly how the lottery is supposed to be performed, and thus either substitute different actions as part of the ritual, or do away with them altogether.

He believes by retiring the tradition that "They'll be wanting to go back to living in caves" (254). According to Mr. Warner, the lottery is the only thing keeping society stable. As a man of superstition he thinks that a human sacrifice is the only logical answer for insuring that their crops are good, seen in the line "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" (254). Mr. Warner accepts the way things are because this is the way they have always been. Changing tradition would be disastrous in his eyes. The other main symbol in "The Lottery" is the black box. Unlike old man Warner, the black box represents the absence of tradition. This is because the box itself has not been passed down, rather it has only been the ideas and rituals that were passed through generations. Only pieces of the original box remain. In the beginning of the lottery the villagers used wood chips instead of paper. Over the years the small details of the lottery have been lost and all that remains is the true intention of it. The villagers are blindly following a ritual that has lost most of the tradition, and only holding lotteries simply because there has always been one.

“Chips of wood, Mr. Summers had argued, had been all very well when the village was tiny, but now that the population was more than three hundred and likely to keep growing” (Jackson, 2). The town never had an overpopulation issue, there was never a good enough reason to continue the lottery and even less start it for that matter. The social hierarchy of the town did not allow the people to have a voice and that made them feel intimidated. The people were almost programed and expected to accept and carry this unfair tradition; not because of the meaning of it but because they were scared to ask to let it go in results of things getting worse.

In Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, tells the story of a small town that gathers once a year to do a lottery. This isn’t your typical lottery. In this lottery the winner loses instead of winning. The winner is stoned to death as a part of “tradition”. The town people blindly follow this tradition and are unwilling to change. Tradition is one of the main themes in this story and it should be left alone.