Tradition Of The Lottery

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a deceptively simple story about a small town community that holds an annual lottery. Naturally, what makes the plot less simple is the way the story ends with one of the townspeople being stoned as a result of “winning” the lottery. A deeper look at the story reveals that the story is about tradition. Although tradition is often considered to be something positive, in “The Lottery,” tradition is something undesirable and even deadly.

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

“The Lottery” is a short story that may have opened people’s eyes onto what you follow. This story shows how you may not let go of a tradition, here showing it in a negative way. A lottery, which in turn, the winner gets stoned. An example of a tradition is a quinceanera. Although it’s not a negative tradition, this has been something

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

“The Lottery” is based around a simple premise: every year there is a mandatory drawing for a member of the town to win something. The story starts with everyone heading to the center of town to wait for the drawing to start. Kids begin to find stones, just as kids would normally do. Mr. Summers, the man overseeing the entire event, gets out an old, black box and mixes up the slips of paper inside. A woman named Tessie joins the crowd late because she forgot that the

The people in this story still show up for the lottery even though they know what happens when you win. The reason they still go is because its a tradition they want to keep. The story mentions something about other towns getting rid of their lotterys, but the town in the story keeps it due to tradition.

According to Webster’s dictionary, tradition is defined as the belief of doing something that has been part of a culture for quite a long time. There are some traditions people follow that have very dark and unhealthy practices. Could it be possible for someone to be blinded by their traditions and not be able to tell what’s right and what’s wrong?

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.

Winning the lottery doesn’t always yield a favorable outcome. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” town members live such an example of a consequential “prize” drawing. Humans possess a hardwired trait of competition and savagery that manifests itself with an ironic competition with deadly spoils awarded to the victor. At the core of human existence lies a desire to succeed, and more importantly, to win.

Many times people do not want traditions to be changed even if they are not beneficial. Communities rely on traditions to keep the people in the town active for many more generations even if the rituals are not ethical. The story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is an example of a community that knows there is a problem with “the lottery” but is unwilling to do anything about the situation. Jackson shows the readers how many characters never want the tradition to change because they are afraid of what might happen. This story gives the reader a better understanding of how much tradition means to a society even if the ritual kills people annually.

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is the story of a town where they hold an annual lottery within the town, where the winner is stoned and killed. In the time span of the story, a woman named Tessie is the winner of the lottery, but earlier in the day was following this tradition blindly. She only protests when her family is picked. The overall message in the story is that tradition is not always good, and you should stop what is not right.

A ritual like the lottery continues to be held year after year because it is part of the communities tradition that is passed down generations, and that is why the children participate in the violent ritual. Small communities often value their traditions and preserve them even without understanding their meaning. No one moves to end because they will be met with opposition and may be considered an outcast. The old people like Old Man Warner who had gone through the ritual for seventy-seven years, hold onto traditions because it is part of them. The women on the other hand who may want change, they live a community in which patriarchy is practiced. The men had to draw the tickets before the women did.

Every year a lottery is held in different villages. In one small village the lottery only takes one day. All of the families gather in the town square ready for the lottery. Everyone lets a shady black box with pieces of paper in it decide whether they would live or die. This tradition has been going on before anyone that is still alive today was born. No one even knows why they have a lottery, they just do it to follow tradition. As they hear about other villages discontinue their lotteries people start to wonder, but the oldest man in town, Mr. Warner, talks bad about those villages ending the tradition and stops people from questioning before they even start. In the end the one with the black dot on their paper gets stoned to death

Why is it that certain cultures continue to honor traditions and practices that were thought of thousands of years ago? For example, many cultures continue to sacrifice animals and worship inanimate sculptures. The big factor is that these cultures have been practicing these traditions for decades so they do not know any better. Most cultures have a purpose as to why they perform these rituals and practices; whether it is to honor a loved one, hope for a healthy harvest or to please the gods.

Both stories talk about tradition. “The Lottery” talks about an annual tradition that is so ingrained in the community, a tradition that is pointless and harmless to the people. In “Dead Men’s Path” talks about a situation in which an outsider new to the community wants to make a change to the tradition he didn’t understand the value. Obi’s attempt to close the footpath that the locals believe is used by dead and unborn souls to enter the village. Obi uses rational, progressive arguments in discussing the matter with the village priest who, ironically, seems both more intelligent and more open-minded than the ideological headmaster. “What you say may be true,” admits the priest, adding “but we follow the practices of our fathers.” The results of Obi’s idealistic obstinacy ultimately prove disastrous for both the school and his career. Both stories theme is the tradition. In these two stories, it is apparent that tradition can be both good and bad.