Slavery In Battle Royal And The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

When thinking of a tradition, most people think of joyful things; baking Christmas cookies or even family game nights on Wednesdays. Traditions create memories, and bonds between familes. But, as shown in the short stories, “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, not all traditions are passed in good spirit - such as slavery, discrimination, and sacrifice. Slavery has been a part of culture all over the world for decades. Most people would not see this as a form of tradition but as told in “Battle Royal”, “...been equal (or unequal) eighty- five years ago… eighty- five years ago they were told they were free, united with others of our country in everything pertaining to the common good..” (Ellison). For years,
But, as one of the regular boys proved, it had been a tradition. He claimed that because the narrator was “ taking part in the fight, [it] had knocked one of their friends out of a night's work” (Ellison). The white ‘big shots’ of the town took the colored boys along with the narrator, and grouped them together. The boys were forced to fight each other and embarrass themselves for the white mens’s entertainment. As the boys struggled, the men “roared” as the show went on (Ellison).
Another form of discrimination was shown in “Battle Royal” is sexism. The narrator describes a scene in which a naked blonde woman dances for the men and boys in the room. He uses phrases like, “This creature was completely hypnotized… men began reaching out to touch her” (Ellison). In short, the men sexualized and objectified the woman. All women were seen as dependent on men, property of their
The reason most religions sacrifice, is because they have been taught that if their practicing group gives up something or someone, they will get benefited something in return from their god or other supernatural figure they praise (Wikipedia). The practice of sacrifice has been passed down through generations for centuries. Therefore, it can be considered a type of tradition. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a type of sacrifice is described. Each year on the 27th of June, everyone in the village gathered to pick from ‘the lottery’. Although this sounds like a good thing, it is not. The person who picks the winning paper, is the person who gets stoned to death. For years, ancestors have told “lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson). The towns believed that if a person was sacrificed once a year, the corn supply would increase. People of all ages would participate in the terrifying tradition as they were told- men, women, and even little children. This is what the people of the village have been doing for years upon years. Grandparents have been sharing this mandatory tradition to children and grandchildren. This is what they have known to do and they do not plan to stop it anytime soon. Years have passed and sacrifice has become less common, essentially because it is illegal. Over time, traditions get altered, like in “The Lottery”, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still