The Lottery Shirley Jackson Tradition Essay

Rituals and traditions can define a society. Old ways of thinking and cultural traditions are embedded into every society and can have a drastic impact on the way of life within those cultures. In Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery," Jackson depicts a tradition on which life was founded on within a culture. In this particular society, a dominant ritual, passed down throughout many generations, continues to be the driving force of actions within the society. This lottery consists of an annual ritual in which every family in the village puts their name into a black box and a single name is drawn, signifying the village member who will be stoned. Through this story, Jackson is able to express his theme that old traditions in society should not remain merely because of fear and habit, but rather must be evaluated according to the needs and
Jackson utilizes old traditions, the actions and behaviors of the people, and comparisons to other villages to implement his theme that traditions should not remain because of habit, but need to be evaluated based upon the significance of them. The people in this story refuse to recognize the meaning behind the lottery and continue the ritual solely out of routine purposes. The characters' reactions reveal that this event is commonplace for the society. Although the thought of killing someone annually seems to be pensive, the villagers find it routine and ordinary, as long as they are not the one chosen to be killed. Within the story, there is no clear reason for this ritual, and no repercussion seems to have happened to the villages who have done away with the event. Overall, traditions that have been passed on should continually be reevaluated according to the needs and morality of each generation, and should not remain in a society purely out of fear or custom. The question remains, "Why do we continue old traditions within