The Lottery Essay

Keri B. Romero Enc1102 Essay #3 A tradition is an inherited belief that it is passed from one generation to another generation throughout time. The Author in the Story “The Lottery” gives us a good lesson about how traditions and rituals can absorb human beings to follow a pattern without questioning if what’s put in practice is right or wrong. The lottery story written by Shirley Jackson characterizes various symbolical elements; one of them is the black box which represents tradition, death, and loss of respect for human life. The black box is the object that represents the villagers in the story the tradition been followed and practice for years, and the fear of getting close to it. They treat the box like an object that cannot be replaced in order to respect their tradition. The thought of changing the block box was against their tradition.
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. (Jackson)(138).
This is a clear example the author emphasizes regarding the black box being a symbol of tradition in that small town. There was a hesitation of nervousness just by going near the black box “The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and black box” (Jackson)(138). Definitely following traditions and rituals without questioning the meaning of it can make us ignorant and followers instead of standing up for our own beliefs. The black box in the story also symbolizes death because of the function that it was used for and the representation of the color black. By gathering

Cited: Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." McMahan, Elizabeth. Literature and The Writing process. Ed. Person Education. Ninth. Boston: Longman, 2011. 1196.