When breaking news is being told the majority of the population just accepts what they hear and do not bother to research facts or more information about the issue or subject. In the village, the same type of cycle happens. Although the towns folk question the lottery, none of them bother to speak out since everyone is fixed on tradition, leading them to blindly follow in this cruel act every year. Jackson shows that the townsfolk don’t really have a strong knowledge as to how the lottery came to be, but they try to preserve the tradition anyway. This is the same way humans tend to listen and are naïve to new things they hear.
Their mother loves making quilts but they’d have a meaning being them and Maggie understood the culture behind them. Dee on another hand didn’t get much of it and stated “Mama I think our culture is dumb” (Walker 83). Dee also is rejecting her immediate African-American background. Although Maggie wants to keep her mamas quilt for use and not as a “show”. Mama also states “I recon she would, I said “god know I been saving them for long enough with nobody using them.
Web. 9 Apr. 2014. Fielder, Robyn L., and Michael P. Carey. “Predictors and Consequences of Sexual ‘Hookups’ among College Students: A Short-Term Prospective Study.” Archives of sexual behavior 39.5 (2010): 1105–1119.
Throughout history, tradition has been considered sacred. Throughout Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the characters closely follow the tradition of a yearly lottery within the village. To these villagers, the tradition of the lottery is very important. This is most likely due to the fact that there is no one who would even dare to mess with it, because the villagers are all too afraid to say anything and cause a fuss. The traditions of the village lottery bring the town together, even though the outcome is unfortunate for the winner.
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.” (pg 141. Para.5) The second piece is the three-legged stool that supports the dreaded black box and easily represents the tradition of the lottery. The narrator observes that the “villagers kept their distance, leaving space between themselves and the stool.” The villagers acknowledge the presence of the stool, but aren’t inclined to move closer to the stool; their fear distances them from the stool and the tradition of the lottery. The stool remains as it supports the box; in this way, the reader can understand the conflict of the villagers keeping a tradition that nobody likes or enjoys verses their collective fear of removing it all together. The final piece of symbolism is the white slips of paper that symbolize equality among the villagers; they are all affected
It represents the hidden horrors in this village. At the beginning, the story shows a relaxed tone, but it totally changes when the reader realizes what winning the lottery really means and becomes from a relaxed tone to an ironic tone. “The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (256). This quote made the reader think that a joyful event is about to happen. The narrator does not seem happy for someone to win the lottery so that means that nothing good is going to happen and neither seems to be scared because this is a routine they must follow every year as part of the village.
The conflict correlates with the central idea because this is the society’s way of legally getting rid of someone that is trying to protest what they have always known. When Mrs. Adams says, “Some places have already quit lotteries.” Old Man Warner comes back and says, “Nothing but trouble in that...pack of young fools.” Later on, Old Man Warner tells us that he has been in the lottery seventy-seven times. (32) This example demonstrates how if you follow tradition, the society will not be violent toward you. Old Man Warner clearly respects the tradition and therefore has not been harmed by it, even though he has been apart of it many times. Another example of society vs character is at the end of the story when Mrs. Hutchinson is about to be chosen, a girl whispers “I hope it’s not Nancy.” Old Man Warner replies to this by saying, “It’s not the way it used to be.” (34) Old Man Warner’s response shows how he is aware of the manipulation taking place.
The villagers continue to practice this tradition even though they don’t seem to know why. They simply knew that there had “always been a lottery” (McMahan, Day, Funk & Coleman, 136) The villagers feel that the lottery must be held and therefore no one argues with the tradition or the leaders of the village but instead they feel compelled to continue with this tradition and if they have concerns they do not voice them but simply conform and comply and so each year another life is lost (McMahan, Day, Funk & Coleman, 133 - 138) Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1948, which was not long after World War II had ended. Before Hitler came along Germany was in trouble but he convinced his followers that he could make a better life for them if they were loyal. He taught his followers to b... ... middle of paper ... ...nes gained loyalty with the use of his knowledge of the Bible and also promised a world in paradise. David Koresh got may people to follow him out of because of their up bring.
5). The people of the village are very set in their ways; when the topic of change comes up they are very quick to dismiss it as foolishness. This mindset shows up multiple times throughout the story. Towards the beginning of the story, the black box used for the lottery is mentioned and it is indicated that "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" (pg 258-259 para. 5).
Lowering the Bar We have reached an era where everyone is expected to go to college, and educators are forcing this goal upon unwilling individuals to their great detriment. According to Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson in The Ambitious Generation: America's Teenagers, Motivated but Directionless, only fifty percent of twelfth graders surveyed in the 1950s expected to attend college, but by the 1990s, that number had increased to 90% (5). Much of this can be attributed to the increasing complexity of the American workplace—machinery has replaced most of the blue-collar jobs that existed five decades ago, and nearly every job requires some degree of technical sophistication. Much of it, however, cannot. Almost half of teenagers expecting to attend college “hope to get degrees that exceed the credentials needed for the occupations they want” (Schneider 6).