Rituals and Tradition in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery Essay

Why do people accept and follow traditions? The Lottery by Shirley Jackson tells an eye-opening story of a tradition that seems far fetched but is riddled with truths of human emotion and social practices. In Jacksons fictional society, there is an annual lottery in every village to determine who will be sacrificed. In this years lottery, the Hutchinson household picks the marked paper, and the mother, Tessie, is the unfortunate sacrifice. Through a long-established tradition, The Lottery showcases what people are really capable of and what motivates them.Superstition is the original motive for the annual killing. The longest living resident, Old Man Warner, gives the only explanation for the lottery saying, used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon (142). At the traditions origin, it was believed that after the sacrifice the village would have prosperity and good luck. Much of the ritual has been forgotten and no longer practiced, but the drawing and killing continues. For generations, citizens of this village have practiced the sacrificial drawing. Old Man Warner tells Mr. Adams, theres always been a lottery (142). Why has it not been questioned and stopped? The simplest answer is because that is how it has always been done. The only mention of stopping the lottery is from Mr. Adams saying, over in the north village theyre talking of giving up the lottery (142). This is not a cry for injustice or criticism of the tradition but just not wanting to be bothered by the inconvenience of it. Rituals become traditions when further generations continue to practice them, so influencing the youth is vital. Jackson illustrates the importance of this with the children of the village. All the children view and participate in the lottery. The kids know what is going to happen, yet they play while they gather stones. This shows that at a young age the children are numb to the reality of murdering someone....

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