Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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

Old Man Warner represents the sentiment of tradition that exists in most of the townspeople. He complains that much of the "ritual has been allowed to lapse." This is true. The only part of the original tradition that has been preserved is the use of the box and the stones. In a conversation with Mrs. Adams, he calls those thinking of giving up the lottery, "a pack of fools." To him, and many villagers, the lottery, Old Man Warner quotes an old adage "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," as if a ritual sacrifice is necessary for a profitable season. This superstition is what probably deters many of the townsfolk from giving up the old tradition. "There's always been a lottery," Old Man Warner says, but he also adds, "it's not the way is used to be, people ain't the way they used to be."

Shirley Jackson’s use of characters is very detrimental to keeping the theme of the story lively. Whether they play a minor or significant role to the story each character reveals a lot of information about the tradition of the lottery and its intentions, varying from subtle to obvious details. One of the most important characters is Old Man Warner, an elderly man who is very conservative about the preservation of this tradition He holds it dearly to his heart, despite the fact that this tradition is slowly deteriorating in villages around him. Old Man Warner represents the stubborn nature of all the townspeople who are reluctant to

The box is so overrated because it has been passed down from generations to perform the tradition. The black box is falling apart and they are reluctant to fix it. The box is not even kept in a safe place, it is kept in different places which makes you wander if somebody wanted to put a stop on the lottery that would at least try to destroy the box but they stay loyal to it. Old man Warner is the oldest man in the village and has survived through all seventy-seven lotteries. He is the main character that represents the lottery as a symbol. Mr. Warner does not think that holding the lottery every year is bad because that is all he knows. Younger people have came up to him and brought up that in other villages they are thinking about giving up the lottery but he thinks that they “are a pack of crazy fools” (221). As well as thinking if it wasn’t for the lottery that they would all go back to unsophisticated times, living in caves and eating chickweed and acorns. He has such an ignorant mind because he thinks that human sacrifice is the answer for having good crops,” Lottery in June, corn be heavy

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

Tradition is a large part of life today, but decades ago it was almost a way of life and if it was not followed there were stiff consequences. The story is misleading by the title because of the normal thought of a lottery is something positive or a giveaway. The story is quite the opposite of the common thought. The main point that Jackson shows in “The Lottery” is that people can be involved with such a violent act and think nothing of it. In the story all the people are happy, “they stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.”(Jackson 124). The tradition the village seams at first to be a happy scene, but later learn that it is a terrible event that is a

In “The Lottery”, the downfall of the townspeople is following tradition. It is mentioned several times that many details of the lottery's ritual have been lost, but the lottery itself remains. Jackson writes, “no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.” Old Man Warner scolds some of the townspeople, calling them

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

Many characters in the story know the proper procedure for how the lottery is to be handled and behave according to expectations without guidance because it is second nature to them. The black wooden box is part of the tradition since it stores the names of the citizens. The box has also been in use for a while ever since, “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago” (259). It was also explicitly said by Mr. Summers that he did not wish to disturb the tradition of the lottery by wanting something new to draw names from. Since the tradition of pulling names for the town’s lottery predates every person in the town, it is seen as normal to everybody because the tradition has been carried out many generations prior. Traditions can also be subject to change throughout the course of time and the same can be said for the lottery because, “slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood” (260). This was done because the population had grown too large over time, much like how modern traditions adapt over time in order to better accommodate the many people practicing

The short story, “The Lottery” is about villagers in a small community who gather together in the town square for the town lottery. The children of the village had just finished school for the summer and gather stones to put in a pile, followed by the men, and then the women. There are 300 people in this village so the lottery is only a couple hours compared to other towns. Mr. Summers is the man who conducts the lottery, who has no kids and wife is considered unpleasant. His assistant is Mr. Graves who helps Mr. Summers to the spot where a very old black box is placed. The black box contains slips of paper for everyone in town and is noted to be even older than the towns oldest citizen, Old Man Warner. Before the start of the lottery list of the heads of households, family members, and heads of

Tradition; the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact or being passed on in this way. Some people in this world take traditions very seriously. Some traditions can be a little easier going than others. As we found out from Shirley Jackson, the author of The Lottery, traditions were rough. They had to deal with death.

In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson Shows a lot of attention to the details that give you imagery of what is happening. The black box is a good example of her attention to details that puts a very depicted image into the reader's mind. While she is describing the black box she tells about how old the box is, older than old man warner who has been around for 77 lotterys. When Jackson introduces the box she talks about how the tradition was built in the box and how they thought that the old box that had been lost long ago was built into the new box. Jackson also touches on the fact that Mr. Joe Summers, who runs the lottery, tries to convince the town residents to build a new box, but the residents are so stuck up in the tradition that they will not even consider. When Jackson Describes the box she says,”The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.”, this goes to show that many of the residents take this box as the way the lottery will always stay in tradition. Another way that Jackson shows her great use of details and imagery is in her account of the events that she describes. “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 2th. but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole

The tone of the narrative seems harmless leading you to believe that th day of the Lottery was just like any other day. An example of which would be, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with a fresh warmth of a full summer day…”. The Narrator also states “the lottery was conducted as were the square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program…” This suggest that the lottery was as much a tradition as any other ceremony that took place.

In the fictional world of “The Lottery” has to say about to us about tradition and society is that it has to remain firm. In the story, we read about the black box, but the black box that is used is not the original However, the villagers do not mind because the new black box has been used way before the oldest villager. Mr. Summer conducts the lottery every year and he believes that they should get a new box. One of his reason is that the black box is old and is getting small for everyone in the villager. However, because the villagers do not like change, they avoid talking about getting a new box. Furthermore, there is also a discussion between Mr. Adams and old man Warner. During their discussion, the reader is able to note that they

The black box had been around ever since the town first started. Throughout time the box began to decay and become more fragile. Ms.Summer was the only person to put attention on this matter. "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box”(Shirley 128). This quote shows how dedicated the villagers were to the lottery. They believed that tradition should not be changed. This is similar to me in my personal life. During new years we have a special pot that I made when I was younger to cook potato. Never do we use a different pot no matter how old and banged up it