Traditions in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

583 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary elements of the lottery by shirley jackson

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

I. The first part of the traditional ritual that is changed is the chips of wood.

A. "Chips of wood, Mr. Summer's had argued, had been all very well when the village was tiny..."

B. It's perceived as though there is no regard to how the ancestors of this village put on the lottery.

II. The second part of the traditional ritual that is changed is the recital.

A. It is said that it was ."..performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year..."

B. . It's almost as if they heard of the tradition, took the stoning someone to death part, and then created the rest of the ritual themselves.

III. The third tradition that was changed in the village is the ritual salute.

A. The lottery official used this salute to address each person who came up to draw from the box.

B. The village people decide that eliminating the salute will also be beneficial.

Tradition

The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, revolves around a series of traditions that no one seems to follow anymore. This story begins by explaining how the lottery process works. It takes place on June 27 of every year. All the people of the village gather in the town's square- husbands, wives, and children. Each head of household pulls a small piece of paper out of a black box. All but one piece of paper will be blank. The piece with the black-penciled spot is the piece that will send someone in that family to death. After that piece of paper is pulled from the box the members of that family must draw. The member that pulls the spotted paper out gets stoned to ...

... middle of paper ...

...people decide that eliminating the salute will also be beneficial. It blatantly shows the loss of respect to the creator's of the tradition. All the people in this village are very self-involved and ignorant to their culture.

Overall, this story tells of the loss of tradition. Three very old and sacred parts of this tradition are eliminated or changed. It's disheartening to read this story and see how a society's culture is so damaged. After more years pass, it will be surprising to know if any part of this tradition is practiced or if it all just ends. Hopefully these villagers will one day understand the true meaning of tradition and practice the lottery the way it's suppose to be practiced.

Works Cited

The Lottery

Shirley Jackson

Page 328-334

Literature The Human Experience Shorter Eighth Edition

Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz

Show More
Related

  • The Contrast of Two Great Short Stories: The Rocking Horse Winner and The Lottery

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Lottery” is a short story about an event that takes place every year in a small village of New England. When the author speaks of “the lottery” he is referencing the lottery of death; this is when the stoning of a village member must give up his or her life. The villagers gather at a designated area and perform a customary ritual which has been practiced for many years. The Lottery is a short story about a tradition that the villagers are fully loyal to and represents a behavior or idea that has been passed down from generation to generation, accepting and following a rule no matter how cruel or illogical it is. Friends and family become insignificant the moment it is time to stone the unlucky victim.

    Read More

  • Religious Tradition in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    ?there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, un...

    Read More

  • Conformity and Tradition as Related to Davy in The Lottery

    445 Words  | 1 Pages

    However, conformity is the basic theme of “The Lottery.” Although the villagers do not approve of the lottery, they go along with it so they will not be outcast by their peers. They speak badly about the other villagers that have stopped having lotteries, even though in the back of their minds they want their town to stop as well. In response to the talk of the village in the north not having a lottery, Old Man Warner says, “Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while…” As if his village is anymore civilized than a pack of rabid wolves. That is a perfect example of how the villagers would rather conform to what they think the majority approves of than what they know to be right.

    Read More

  • Theme of Tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ithdraw from the tradition because they do not know any other way. Can you imagine what life would be if there were no Christmas or Thanksgiving? For many cultures, tradition is the basis for their history. One example to this being the Hawaiian culture whose history was destroyed when they were forced to stop their ancient dances which told stories of their past. Adversely, tradition has played negative roles in society as well with the battle between the Muslims and Christians in many middle-eastern countries. Tradition plays many roles in today's society. Our goal should be to grasp the idea of what they really mean. We must not isolate ourselves to what we think we know, but instead allow ourselves to comprehend.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Tessie Hutchson's 'The Lottery' By Shirley Jackson

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shirley Jackson fussy adventure of a story, The Lottery”, where there isn’t really a main character, but you can say Tessie Hutchinson is the main event, but started off with young boys collecting stones. Then mention’s people that from a small village talking about “The Lottery” and how they’re one of the only villages continuing to participate in doing so. Where there would be a drawing from a black box where the family member go and draw. Where Tessie Hutchison gets the folded paper with a dark dot on it meaning she won, but not anything but will be there one getting stoned to death that evening. Old man Warner “Lotter in June, corn be heavy soon”. The connection I made was that’s the only reason people in the village believe if they keep this ceremonial going the corn will continue to grow.

    Read More

  • Dialectical Journal For The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mr. Summers ran the lottery because he does things for the village. A black box is brought out in front of everyone. Mr. Summers mixes up the slips of paper in the box. Then he calls everyone’s name in town. After he finishes calling names, everyone in town opens their papers.

    Read More

  • Use Of Irony And Allegory In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    2199 Words  | 5 Pages

    It has no explanation behind it, except for an old adage about how a lottery would bring a successful crop yield. The lottery is self-perpetuated by the townspeople, who blindly follow the ritual because it is the way they know. It is evident that the people who live in this town, with it’s population of more than three hundred (1), are trained from a young age to follow the practice; at the beginning of the story, the school-aged boys are collecting stones before the reader is aware of the true nature of the lottery, as well as Davy Hutchinson being assisted in choosing a slip out of the lottery box: ‘“Take a paper out of the box, Davy." Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed.”’ (65) "Take just one paper." Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you hold it for him." Mr. Graves took the child's hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly. (65) The tradition is self-perpetuating, as each child is presented to the community as a “blank slate” and must be taught the ways of the

    Read More

  • The Dangers Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.

    Read More

  • The Lottery Theme Essay

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of family is completely changed during the lottery. The villagers randomly persecute individuals, all because they have the marked slip of paper, and the lottery is a tradition that shows how blindly following a tradition can be dangerous, possibly

    Read More

  • Analysis of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    506 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main theme in Jackson’s “The Lottery” is tradition. Jackson conveys tradition as the main theme thought the story. “The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around.” (966). The author suggests the people of the village have been playing the lottery for several years. “The people had done is so many times... they only half listened to the directions” suggests that the people of the village have played the lottery so many times that they only half listened to the directions. Jackson also suggests that the people of the village are anxious ...

    Read More

  • Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    As this is a yearly tradition, the villagers already know how the lottery is set up and what is to be expected. None of them act up against the ritual, despite knowing that their lives are on the line. Even Old Man Warner is quite nonchalant about this lottery being his seventy-seventh time. It is not until after the papers have been drawn that the atmosphere of the village takes a sudden turn.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Change In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1492 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every year, the lottery is held, and every year a person is killed. Each villager neglects to acknowledge the unjustness of the lottery and continue to participate because of the tradition it represents in their society. The lottery was a cultural tradition passed down from the very first settlers of the village. It makes up a huge part of the village’s history and culture. The villagers pay recognition to their culture by continuing the tradition of the lottery even though the lottery is not morally right. On page 93 it states, “There was a proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year… There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came to draw from the box…” This quote shows the tribal-like rituals and traditions associated with the lottery. Through the years, some of the rituals of the lottery were lost, but the main elements of the lottery remained the same. The idea behind the lottery was that the ancestors, of the villagers, believed that human sacrifice would bring in good harvest. This led to the development and continuation

    Read More

  • Irony in the Story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    The plot as a whole in “The Lottery” is filled with ironic twists. The whole idea of a lottery is to win something, and the reader is led to believe that the winner will receive some prize, when in actuality they will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. The villagers act very nonchalant upon arriving at the lottery; which makes it seem as if it is just another uneventful day in a small town. Considering the seriousness of the consequences of the lottery, the villagers do not make a big deal about it. Under the same note it is ironic that many of the original traditions of the lottery, such as the recital and the salute, had long been forgotten. All that the villagers seemed to remember was the ruthless killing of a random person. It also seems strange that they let the equipment for the lottery, the black box, get into such a poor condition.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

    390 Words  | 1 Pages

    The third traditional change was in the town's ritual salute. The lottery official used to salute to address each person as they came up front and drew from the black box. This ritual salute changed with the times.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Lottery And The Story Of An Hour

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    It seems that none of the villagers really knows why this ritual is done, or how it began. The only hint of why it may be done is by Old Man Warner when he says, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” implying that it may have started with the belief that sacrificing would bring a successful harvesting season. Most, if not all, villagers have a sort of monotonous attitude towards this day and its events. Knowing that someone is about to be chosen at random to be stoned to de...

    Read More

More about Traditions in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

Open Document