The Sabbath Going To Church And The Lottery
Following Tradition can be Harmful to One’s Health
Traditions are based on specific sets of beliefs that are passed from generation to generation. Even in a constantly changing world, some individuals still feel the need to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. There are some who will make the choice to stick to certain practices no matter what the outcome may be. Yet, other individuals will disagree and follow their own paths in life by choosing not to participate in such traditions. These two differences can be seen in “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church,” a poem by Emily Dickenson, and “The Lottery,” a story written by Shirley Jackson. In “The Lottery” Jackson shows the way a whole village of people chooses to take part in a twisted …show more content…
The characters are all outside on a warm sunny day, kids are playing together, and men and women are socializing with one another as they sometimes do. The plot is later revealed to show a town full of people who are willing to end the life of a neighbor all for the sake of keeping the tradition of what they ironically referred to as the “lottery”. The characters of the story are so accustomed to this event that even the children of the village ready themselves as the little boys, Bobby, Harry Jones and Dickie “eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square” (263) in which they “guarded against the raids of the other boys” (263). The abundance of people all go along with this event even as they brace themselves hoping their names wouldn’t be called by Mr. Summers as he drew from the little black box. There wasn’t a single villager who expressed his/her discomfort even as they were said to. This just goes to show that some people will go along with tradition instead of rebelling against it even if their very life depended on it.
In Dickenson’s poem “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church” the speaker takes delight in the fact that he/she does not adhere to conventional ways that others normally would when honoring the Sabbath day. The speaker uses a tone of contentment with his/her decision to acknowledge the Sabbath by simply “staying at home” (line 2). In religions that recognize the Sabbath day, it is customary to attend church services; those that do not attend regularly are in jeopardy of being judged by other members of their
Traditions are based on specific sets of beliefs that are passed from generation to generation. Even in a constantly changing world, some individuals still feel the need to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors. There are some who will make the choice to stick to certain practices no matter what the outcome may be. Yet, other individuals will disagree and follow their own paths in life by choosing not to participate in such traditions. These two differences can be seen in “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church,” a poem by Emily Dickenson, and “The Lottery,” a story written by Shirley Jackson. In “The Lottery” Jackson shows the way a whole village of people chooses to take part in a twisted …show more content…
The characters are all outside on a warm sunny day, kids are playing together, and men and women are socializing with one another as they sometimes do. The plot is later revealed to show a town full of people who are willing to end the life of a neighbor all for the sake of keeping the tradition of what they ironically referred to as the “lottery”. The characters of the story are so accustomed to this event that even the children of the village ready themselves as the little boys, Bobby, Harry Jones and Dickie “eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square” (263) in which they “guarded against the raids of the other boys” (263). The abundance of people all go along with this event even as they brace themselves hoping their names wouldn’t be called by Mr. Summers as he drew from the little black box. There wasn’t a single villager who expressed his/her discomfort even as they were said to. This just goes to show that some people will go along with tradition instead of rebelling against it even if their very life depended on it.
In Dickenson’s poem “Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church” the speaker takes delight in the fact that he/she does not adhere to conventional ways that others normally would when honoring the Sabbath day. The speaker uses a tone of contentment with his/her decision to acknowledge the Sabbath by simply “staying at home” (line 2). In religions that recognize the Sabbath day, it is customary to attend church services; those that do not attend regularly are in jeopardy of being judged by other members of their