Sadism In The Lottery

When you hear the word “lottery”, the average person would usually think of something good or “clear and sunny” (1). This short story will have the reader thinking differently. Whether you love it or hate it, “The Lottery” has sparked emotion in everyone who has read the short story. This story masterfully shows that some traditions are not meant to be kept. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a short story about the yearly lottery in a small village of three hundred. Everyone in the village picks a ticket out of the black box starting with the husband. If your last name is picked, the husband or a member of his family is picked via ticket draw. The person picked that time is subject to stoning. This sadistic cycle is then repeated every year.

For example, one of the character’s name is Ms. Delacroix. Delacroix means “of the cross” in Latin. Stoning was a consequence used in the Christian faith years ago. Many stories in the Christian faith involve stoning an individual. The writer leads the reader astray by using the name Mr. Summers as well. The word summer is perceived as bright, sunny, and happiness. The summer is when you live life to the fullest. On the contrary, Mr. Summer holds a frightening amount of power in the village. He draws and pulls the paper slips for the lottery. He has complete control over a game of chance that will leave a citizen’s life cut short. On to the “black box” symbolism. In this ignorant world, “black” can be seen as evil or foreshadows an upcoming death such as black crows. Jackson’s masterfully used these symbols to conceal the conclusion from the first time

The lottery has been a tradition in the village since its earlier days. Certain aspects of the lottery are rooted in tradition and superstition. For example, the black box “grew shabbier each year” (4); The box is barely even black anymore after of the years of use. Their attachment stands solely on the fact that this box may have been constructed from an older black box used for the lottery. The stoning and ticket issuing style are a part of the ongoing tradition. However, they have forgotten most of the rituals since the old days. They now write on slip of paper instead of wood chips as a result of the village growing in size population wise. So many other rituals have also been forgotten though which begs the question If you can’t remain consistent with the rituals year after year, why keep such a bizarre and horrific game going? The attachment to tradition in this short story can be found in modern society today. Many people hold on to religions such as Christianity because their mother went to church and their ancestors went to church. In the story, Old Man Warner is so set in his ways that the thought of villages around his own giving up the lottery seemed ludicrous and somewhat devolving. Most blindly follow what is perceived to be normal not because it is the way it has always been done; It is because this is the way they interpret and/or remember it being