The Role Of Tradition In The Lottery

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

Thesis: After a long period of time passes people forget the true meaning of their traditions by slowly disregarding as the years pass.

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

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

A couple months ago on June, 27, in the town of Rumbale was no ordinary day. They had a special tradition that goes by the name of The Lottery. But this lottery isn’t like no other. You don't want to win. Why is that? Because the ‘winner’ gets stoned to death. You might be wondering why is this even a tradition? No one knows, traditions are like unwritten laws, you go with the flow if the people you surround yourself with are doing a tradition or cultural habit then they expect you do it as well.

Almost everyone has gone to a funeral before, and they have witnessed their loved ones passing on. For example, when you go to a funeral everything is dim, bitter, and depressing. In “The Lottery” the characters have a drawing of cards on who is going to die. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson uses descriptive language to show how the characters won’t change tradition even though it is inhumane.

Conformity, the act of mimicking a groups behavior, attitudes, or beliefs. Is this a positive or negative thing? Others may say that it's a positive thing because it was the foundation of modern laws, but that was a very long time ago, does this positive light on conformity still apply? Conformity is a negative thing because the Holocaust, Tessie Hutchinson was stoned to death, and the mere presence of friends influences risk taking, and all three of these examples start with the same thing, Conformity.

A penny for the dead? The definition of ritual, as defined by Webster’s Dictionary, “done as a part of a ceremony or ritual; always done in a particular situation and in the same way each time.” The relevance of rituals have played part in history including rituals with the dead, Indian ceremony rituals, and religious rituals. In the 21st century America, the roles of rituals have lessened and have become less of a common practice than of olden times. In The Lottery, the ritual of stoning the poor sap that “won” the Lottery is one that had been passed on from generation to generation. I believe that every culture has their own rituals that they believe play a significant role in their communities.

Tradition is an important part of everyone's life. Some people follow traditions so deeply rooted in their everyday life that they don't even recognize them as such. Why do you cook rice a certain way? Well, that's the way Grandma always did it. Others hold tradition above anything else. They feel that it is very important to follow these established customs and cannot even imagine rebelling against them although they may be hurtful in some ways. They may not even remember the reason for these customs in the first place. In the short stories "Everyday Use," by Alice Walker, and "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, the authors both express their attitudes towards tradition.

Easily regarded as one of America’s most beloved short stories, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, leaves readers with excitement and perhaps a small sense of doubt. Doubt could be an aspect of the reader’s mind due to the gory fact of the cultural tradition in the small farming town of the story. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and the use of symbolism throughout the story. This means the village is unable to move past their tradition while symbolism is shown through character’s names such as Old Man Warner and Tessie and through various objects in the story like the stool and the black box.

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.

It is human nature to uphold tradition. Shirley Jackson’s  “The Lottery” display’s the issue with society unquestioning approach to institutions. The shocking tale, which takes place in a fictional unnamed town in America, convey’s the dangers of clinging to tradition and not questioning the the institutions that practice them, and just how common they occur. Accordingly, these dangers manifest in the way the characters of the story accept the process of the lottery, but do not comprehend its purpose, the older generation’s disdainful view of noncompliance with tradition, and the townspeople’s callous demeanor in stoning Mrs. Hutchinson.

Shirley Jackson's story, The Lottery is about a group of towns people who meet every year on the 27th of June. On this day a stoning takes place, as it washes away the sins of everyone that lived in the village. However, should the tradition of the stoning be changed when it becomes your time?

To actually have a tradition in place, it has to be followed and duplicated with very few or no change. For centuries, non-essential traditions and acts have been practiced all for the reward of approval from a group or community as a whole. Even if the tradition may be wrong and distasteful, only the people being directly affected by it will speak against it. Deadly and harsh practices such as hazing and stoning have been followed for the induction into the sororities, fraternities or society, yet does not serve a real purpose for acceptance. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” she reveals and emphasizes, through imagery and plot, that people of today and in previous eras conform to unnecessary, evil, and fake traditions because of a thirsty

The Lottery begins like any other day. Clear and sunny skies, flowers blossoming, and green grass. Seemingly nothing out of the ordinary. Then people begin to gather in the town square. What is this lottery that is taking place? Do the people of the town agree with it? These questions can only be answered by exploring the minds of the people in the town.