The Meaning Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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

In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, the dangers of blindly following tradition are revealed. Within this story, a town full of people gathers annually to draw slips of paper to determine who will be stoned to death. While the members of this community may not remember the exact ritual process, they refuse to make any changes to what they do know. The lottery is used as a gruesome example of when tradition prevails over common sense and civility. Following traditions that hold personal meaning is of no harm; however, following a tradition simple for it being a tradition can lead to injustice and discrepancy.

In Jackson 's 'The Lottery, custom and tradition institutionalize atrocious acts. In the story the setting is a small, what looks to be an inspiring community with a population of around three hundred people. Jackson paints a picture of a community where he said, “flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” (1) . Jackson wants the audience to believe that the community was ordinary and innocent, but ends with a dramatic and unnecessary stoning. It leaves the readers stunned, but Religious Persecution happens all over the world in the most remote place and right in our back yards, and readers are not able to wrap their minds around that truth. On a quiet morning, June 27th, the residents, beginning with the

Would you stone your neighborhood to death for the sake of tradition? Shirley Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1948 to tell a story about how savage people can be for tradition. The story is about a small town who has a yearly lottery and the winner gets stoned to death by their neighbors. The thought is that if you have a lottery, then you will have good crops that season. This short story tells the tale of poor Tessie Hutchinson who is stoned by her own town, her son helps too. In the short story The Lottery, Shirley Jackson argues that all people, regardless of how civilized they may seem, are capable of great evil by contrasting seemingly pleasant and relatable details of the town with the shocking barbarity of their tradition.

Americans day after day live much of their lives following time-honored traditions that are passed down from one generation to another. From simple everyday cooking and raising children, to holidays and other family rituals, tradition plays a significant role on how they go by there everyday lives. In Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery," the citizens of a small farming town follow one such tradition. A point is made regarding human nature in relation to tradition. The story begins on a beautiful summer afternoon. The town's citizens are eager, gathering in the town square in order to take part in the yearly lottery. With the story focused around one particular family, the Hutchinsons, who

A symbol of tradition can be something as innocent as a Valentine’s Day card, but what about when that tradition is a little more sinister? Within The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, there contain multiple symbols that reference how society does not let go of “how things have always been” with ease. In this story, a small town is faced with assassinating one of their own in order to maintain tradition, with a selection that is the luck of the draw in the most literal sense. Mrs. Hutchinson’s family ended up being drawn out of a passed down black box; it ended in Mrs. Hutchinson being stoned for the sole reason that she was chosen by chance. Jackson shows her perspective on humanity, showing how cruel humans can be when they are stuck in the trap of overused customs. This story was written in 1948, yet the symbolism is still correlating to life today.

On the other hand, the villagers stoning the winner of the lottery was used as a symbol of punishment. It is one of the most established and common execution methods. However, in The Lottery, the stones represent victory of the lottery. Shirley Jackson stated that, “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (Jackson 291). Stoning is symbolic in “The Lottery” because, “For stoning to be effective it requires a crowd to act together. This reinforces the point that the antagonist of this story it is not a single person but society” (Gahr). For instance, this means that the immorality of the village is so severe that the antagonist is not just one person but society itself. How do you think the villagers feel when their children were caught up in this senseless tradition by collecting stones? It is obvious that the villagers were following tradition that was done every year. “What about allowing a child to be a child?” For example; playing with toy cars and trucks, coloring books and Barbie’s, or getting push by their parents on a swing at a park. Children should not be allowed to partake in an event so gruesome and violent or seen raising anything to aggressively hurt an adult.

What does tradition mean exactly? Well tradition is the passing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, and more, from generation to generation, by practice or speech. When looking at Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” one of their traditions is a lottery that is done annually, where one randomly chosen person dies. One example of a real life tradition that also occurs annually, is a Celebration called días de los muertos or day of the dead, in which we celebrate our departed ancestors. Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery uses characters as a symbol to convey an underlying message that tradition should be questioned, for the idea followed, may have illogical purpose and cause harm.

Shirley Jackson?s insights and observations about society are reflected in her shocking and disturbing short story The Lottery. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first is the shocking tendency for societies to select a scapegoat and second is the idea that communities are victims of social tradition and rituals.

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.

Sometimes when a certain group of people have a tradition, no matter what the tradition is, they follow it. They don’t know how it started or who started it, which is the main reason why that is a tradition. For example, why is turkey the main food at Thanksgiving dinners? Why not other meats like, beef, or lamb? We follow this tradition every year because that's how it's always been.

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

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. As the story begins, the villagers appear to be fairly civilized and carry on fairly modern lifestyles. This is assumed by the men's discussion of planting, rain, tractors, and taxes. The lottery was outdated to such a degree that some may think that the tradition is primal competition of anthropoid beasts. On the other hand, some think that carrying on the tradition was necessary. The question that must be answered is: Was this a barbaric tradition or was this ritual an honest attempt to better other villager's lives?

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) was an American writer from upstate New York who published over 60 literary works and raised to four children; she published her most famous story, “The Lottery,” in 1948 (Kellman 1213). After her death, New Historicism developed as a form of literary criticism focusing on viewing works based on the important events and societal factors during the time it was written and published. It also seeks to understand aspects of society through the literary works it produces (Brizee). With an agrarian village setting, “The Lottery” is an exceptional story to understand societal conditions through New Historicism analysis because it draws parallels to Jackson’s life through its descriptions of gender roles, family units, and cultural traditions similar to those of American society following World War II.

The meaning of tradition is easily lost when blending into an entirely Patriarchal Society. The fairly brief dystopian novel written by Shirley Jackson, The Lottery, dramatizes a small village executing their yearly ritual post to WWII; feministically speaking, society’s cultural normalities downgrade woman. Implicitly, traditions desensitize humanity leading an entire society to oppression. Jackson resembles character’s behaviour and their actions morally blinded; subsequently, through the act of conforming to tradition, victimization against women, as well as symbolism. It is however, human nature to adapt to the surrounding culture given at birth.