Shirley Jackson Essay On Tradition And Tradition

Tradition; it is the back bone of every culture and civilization. It is what keeps the beliefs, philosophies, and activities of societies alive, to be passed down from generation to generation. However not all traditions are practiced with pure intentions.  Some activities become so routine, people don’t know a life outside of them. Societies become so accustomed to “tradition” that they will participate in pastimes without  questioning the ethics or morals of the situation. Ultimately when tradition takes the place of a rationalizing mind the outcome can be incredibly dangerous. The role of tradition is an underlying theme in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, forcing readers to ask themselves “At what point do

When many people think about a lottery, they think about the possibility of winning million dollar jackpots. Lottery ticket buyers hope that eventually one day, they will be the lucky winner to take home enough money to afford their greatest dreams and desires. In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the lottery that takes place drastically differs from the common win big lotteries of the modern day; rather, in this lottery, the citizens win big if they don’t get chosen for the lottery and get to keep their lives. Leaders of this village tell the citizens that they need to go through with this tradition In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” from 1948, she uses a Darwinism lens, criticism from current historical events, and literary elements such as foreshadowing and symbolism to show that human nature mindlessly follows tradition to be accepted in society and to survive.

Another message that Jackson illustrates is the blind following of tradition and how that can be a terrible thing. All the members of the community participate in this horrible act because it is a tradition. The people believe that if it is a tradition it then the lottery must not be a bad thing. When Old Man Warner heard that some communities had stopped the lottery he called them a “pack of crazy fools.” He said, “There’s always been a lottery.”(247) Jackson shows how a tradition can be so brutal yet everyone will go with it because it’s in fact tradition. To go against tradition would be to go against the community, so no one is willing to do that. Jackson shows the long running tradition when the black box that is used to hold the slips of paper never changes. It shows the inability for change in the community.

    "The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice.  The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens.  On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate.  Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice.  Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about.  Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective

“A stone hit her on the side of the head. "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her” (34). “The Lottery” is a short story written by Shirley Jackson which, sparked controversy when published in the June 26, 1948 issue of the New Yorker. Jackson used several different literary devices to support her theme that people who don’t question tradition get what they deserve. The literary devices Jackson uses to support the theme of ‘The Lottery’ are irony, foreshadowing, and pacing.

The short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, managed to capture various human tendencies stemming from the very heart of the unalterable human condition. The willingness to follow tradition blindly, the inherent cruelty of humans, and the unwillingness to change were the primary negative behaviors depicted in the story.

     The Lottery, a short story by the nonconformist author Shirley Jackson, represents communities, America, the world, and conformist society as a whole by using setting and most importantly symbolism with her inventive, cryptic writing style. It was written in 1948, roughly three years after the liberation of a World War II concentration camp Auschwitz. Even today, some people deny that the Holocaust ever happened. Jackson shows through the setting of the story, a small, close knit town, that even though a population can ignore evil, it is still prevalent in society (for example: the Harlem Riots; the terrorist attacks on September 11; the beating of Rodney King.)

There are many things that people do every day without questioning why they do them. These are our habits and traditions, and though for the most part they are unimportant they can be a crucial part of our culture and our interactions with each other. Sometimes there are traditions that can cause harm or are morally unacceptable. What should be done in this case? Edmund Burke, a nineteenth century politician and author, argues that it is best to stick with tradition rather than causing dramatic changes in people’s behavior. This is a key component in his argument against the French Revolution in his essay “Reflections on the Revolution in France.” In this essay he argues that the revolution will only lead the

Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” shows the reader that the human race will do any horrible act for success. As the reader reflects on the story, they may question their own society; does our modern-day society truly differ from the culture in “The Lottery”. The first thought that comes to one’s mind is the acts that are performed by the town in the story are barbaric and unheard of. The town believes they are innocent and it is something that is required for the welfare of staying alive. In our modern-day society, we can also relate to those acts performed in The Lottery. Abortion, for example, is still legal and accepted by a significant amount of people in our country. Even though this act of killing an unborn baby is not performed in public

There are many Americans and people all over the world that live their lives following traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. A tradition can be as simple as cooking a recipe to how you raise your children and holiday traditions. Culture plays a significant role in how people live their day to day lives. In Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery” the people that lived in the town follow a tradition every year. It's easy to understand why Shirley Jackson’s Lottery caused controversy when it was published shortly after World War II in 1948. The Lottery has been dramatized, televised and turned into a ballet. It is taught in high schools and colleges. (Whittier). The Lottery held many questions about traditions that have

Does a society just pick and choose which part of a tradition they want to keep? One tends to remember the actions and the objects necessary to proceed with a ritual, but one may forget the purpose or the reason behind it. Is one correct in continuing a tradition even though there is a victim involved? The individual, as part of a society, is afraid of ridicule.  If one ends a tradition, and society still behaves in the manner they were taught, then ridicule will be the result. "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions," shows that the meaning and purpose behind the ritual had been lost and the society just acting it out through repetition. The villagers, who remember some bits of history about those forgotten aspects of the ritual, ARE NOT even definite about the accuracy of

The theme for The Lottery is, being scared to change tradition because people are afraid of change and in change you don't know what will happen. In The Lottery, Mr.Warner is an old man who is against giving up the lottery in the small village. “Some places have already quit lotteries.” Mrs.Adams said. “Nothing but trouble in that,” old man Warner said. “Pack of young fools” ( Jackson 4). In this quote, Mr.Warner expresses his feelings toward getting rid of the lottery. Mr.Warner thinks that the lottery is what kept the happiness and prospering of the town over the years. People are scared to change or get rid of the community's tradition, it is what makes them happy. Mr.Warner being a traditional man believes that the lottery is good for the

     The shock value of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is not only widely known, but also widely felt. Her writing style effectively allows the reader to pass a judgment on themselves and the society in which they live. In “The Lottery” Jackson is making a comparison to human nature. It is prominent in all human civilizations to take a chance as a source of entertainment and as this chance is taken, something is both won and lost.

Shirley Jackson’s insights and observations about man and society are reflected in her famous short story "The Lottery". Many of her readers have found this story shocking and disturbing. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first, the shocking reality of human’s tendency to select a scapegoat and second, society as a victim of tradition and ritual. Throughout history we have witnessed and participated in many events, where, in time of turmoil and hardship, society has a tendency to seize upon a scapegoat as means of resolution.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, is a short story expressed through the theme of apathy, when the community feels no emotion for anyone, a ritual is more important than a human being, mob mentality, and hypocrisy which is prevalent within the townspeople. “This short story was published in 1948 by The New Yorker which is one of Jackson’s iconic stories, which generated the largest volume of mail ever received by the magazine---before or since---almost all of it hateful. ‘The Lottery’ has since been published in dozens of languages, and is still required reading in U.S. high schools.  It is possibly the most well-known short story of the 20th Century” (Linda Allen).