The Lottery Short Story Analysis

In that village there is an old man who was so committed to their belief that they follow about, therefore he fears that the villagers will return to primitive time and stop following the ritual of the lottery. The family has the bond that is a significant part of the lottery because they are so against one another. In that village through the lottery family stand together in a group, and every family member is required to present there if not then they are not obeying the tradition correctly. Head of the family first gets the chance to take the paper and rest of them follow. The family relationship is essential to living, it meant to support us, protect us, love and understand us. The family relationship is meant to protect us from external influences and help us to make better decisions after all family is the one who promotes our inner growth and supports us. When

Traditions are widespread among many different people and cultures; It is an explanation for acting without thinking. Not all traditions are a good thing, though, and blindly following them can lead to harsh consequences. The villagers in a small town in “The Lottery” gather together annually to participate in this tradition, where one person in the town is randomly chosen in a drawing to be violently stoned to death by citizens. It has been around for seventy-seven years and everyone partakes in it. People always attend, showing the importance of tradition amongst the society. However, in the short story, “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses many literary devices to show that traditions are not always meant to be followed.

The tradition known as “The Lottery” is an old one that almost every village would do, but by the time that the story is set in most of them had stopped doing the lottery already. Nobody in the village knew why they would do this tradition or what it meant at all. They would just stone people each time someone won for no particular reason except that its “The Lottery.” The black box used in the lottery itself was also not even the original one which shows you that the villagers didn't even know the real meaning to the tradition.

Tradition is not always the best thing, despite what most people might think. In the story ‘The Lottery’ we have an example of a toxic tradition. A toxic tradition would be something that has been passed on from generation to generation, and the meaning of this tradition is then lost over the years. ‘The Lottery’ explores the topics of tradition, rebelling against the system, and mob mentality. The way the story is written is meant to shock the reader when they realize what it means to win the lottery. The reader is an outsider to the town and can see what’s wrong about the whole tradition, despite the blindness of the townspeople.

            Not only do people use bits and pieces of tradition; sometimes the meaning or purpose of a tradition is lost altogether.  In carrying out the lottery, "the people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions" (Jackson 319).   The villagers do not remember why the lottery first took place and now merely act it out through repetition.  They remember some aspects of the ritual but are not definite about how accurate their memories are.  Some think that the lottery official should stand a certain way when he sings the chant, and others that he should "walk among the people" (Jackson 317).  A good example of this in our society is Thanksgiving. Today people celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday much differently than they did 400 years ago.  When the Pilgrims approached the second year in America and after much suffering, they had a very successful and plentiful fall harvest. They were

The description of the rituals show that someone influences the people to chant and praise. This illustrates an otherworldly identification of the leader. Jackson further describes the victim of the lottery as someone who stood before the crowd resembling a divine being. Words such as “duly” and “supposed” provides knowledge that the village practiced and followed the same procedure every year with no other alternatives or any other unrequired arrangements. Similarly, Old Man Warner, when talking about the dangers of discontinuing the lottery, continues, “Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’” (Jackson 4). Old Man Warner’s words imply the worship of a higher being, who willingly. sacrifice their own people to a divine individual with the hope that the rest of the year will be successful. This proves that the villagers don’t necessarily understand the real reason for the lottery; they subside because they believe in a higher being who will reward them with a good year. Although Jackson does tie “The Lottery” to a Biblical theme, there lies a greater reason for the twisted ending of her short story.

Who will soon be wanting to live in caves". This demonstrates the village's reliance on tradition, even when it is unethical and illogical to society. Not every

Every year must have a “ winner ”, then rest of the people will killed him with stones. People before and after the lottery , nobody have a little sad. All the people just want to quickly done it and hurry to home to finished the housework . As for such a “ tradition” . All the villagers in the town remember this “tradition” inveterately.

The first warning against tradition is the villagers’ treatment of the lottery when the day

The short story “The Lottery” by Jackson about a small village having a tradition which seems normal. Tradition is something that respectable, but in “The Lottery”, it appears to be inhumanity. No one seems to know how it started, but they accept it like a part of the town. Every year, a head of household is drawn from the box, and family members are chosen to win the lottery. At the beginning, I thought lottery means something like a reward, and the winner must very lucky.

When we think of tradition we typically think of holidays, who cooks dinner and who puts the star on the top of the tree. In “The Lottery” a short story by Shirley Jackson alters the belief of good tradition transitions into a bad one. The citizens in this small town follow a tradition that one might not see every day. The title for one makes readers think of hope and a prize of some sort will be given to a winner. Then the story begins with a description of a beautiful summer afternoon, which is very warm and welcoming. The town anxiously gathers in the town square to take part in the yearly lottery. This lottery is not like your ordinary lotteries; this is one that you do not want to win. The winner of this lottery will be stone to death.

This story reminds me of many unquestioned tradition in my country. The tradition that passed down within our society, generation by generation. People consider these tradition as the elements of culture, belief and bound them to

In the story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the villagers gather annually to select a person to sacrifice to ensure a good harvest. Although, the word lottery is usually associated with winning a grand prize, I believe that Ms. Jackson used that word to create a sense of familiarity in the gathering of villagers for her audience. It certainly made me feel secure that in the unfurling of the story I would find out which lucky villager won something nice. I smiled as I read about the young children playing with the rocks and the husbands and wives gathering and gossiping. I imagined the scene of a sleepy little farming town where the cheerful civil servant would officiate public events and all the townsfolk had a wholesome sense of community.

Traditions are everywhere, they are big, small, good, and bad. In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the village engages in an unforgettably unfortunate tradition. Jackson portrays the tradition in great chronological detail so that the audience can understand and learn to evaluate their personal traditions more closely. The chronological events that occur in the short story portray to the readers that the ancient tradition may seem logical but it is actually tragic.

There are numerous origins and types of traditions. A tradition is something that everyone believes in their own way of understanding and they practice that tradition. However, there are many ways to believe or not believe in other’s traditions. A tradition is the handing down of a statement, beliefs, legends, customs, and information from generation to generation. It can be transferred by word of mouth, action or by practice. Everyone has their own way to practice their tradition and beliefs. It can also be the best way to teach children where their family came from. Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery,” started her story with the description of a clear, sunny summer day in a small village. The townspeople were beginning to gather in the town square for the annual “lottery”. The lottery was like a ritual for the townspeople. Usually, it happens every June of the year at the place where young boys collect pebbles with their pockets full of numerous stones and where some women gossip others and laugh together, foreshadowing the twisted ending to this chilling short story “The Lottery” displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and the use of symbolism throughout the story. In fact, “The Lottery” is an important part of the culture of the village and has been practiced for many years, much longer than anyone still living can remember. While the original function of the ceremony may have been lost, that does not mean that it never had a purpose.