Human sacrifice is viewed today as unethical and malicious— unfortunately, it has been a part of history for thousands of years and continues to occur in some isolated regions. Lives were exchanged for the benefit of others through ritualistic ceremonies around the world. Whether or not the people were victims, or if they had surrendered themselves to supernatural powers is explored in the article “The Practices of Human Sacrifice” by Dr Mike Parker-Pearson. Similarly, in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the gruesome details of human sacrifice are revealed through a tale about villagers that partake in an annual stoning of the individual that chooses a black-dotted paper to ensure plentiful crops. The sacrifices that are now reprehensible crimes were valued because of the prosperity they brought, to ensure the gods were appeased and to continue a tradition. …show more content…
Ancient civilizations took unconventional measures to reach this goal. Today, if a family or community member is killed, vigils, funerals, or memorials are held to mourn their loss. Death is never a celebratory occurrence. Yet, for the families of the deceased in ancient civilizations, it was, as it "[bestowed] considerable prestige on the child's parents and on their local community"(Parker-Pearson, 2011, p. 3). Success was not limited to people who were close to the sacrificed; sacrifice additionally ensured achievement to the land. If there was a " 'lottery in June, corn be heavy soon' "(Jackson, 1948, p.4) for the villagers in the story "The Lottery". This portrays the fact that that they believe by sacrificing a human being's life it will ensure the growth of their crops. Prosperity today is reached by working at a high paying job or by doing whatever causes happiness; no one would ever kill for something so
“The less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it” (Twain). The Lottery begins during the summer. A small, seemingly normal, town is gathering to throw the annual “Lottery”. In the end, the townspeople—children included—gather around and stone the winner to death, simply because it was tradition. The story reveals how traditions can become outdated and ineffective. “I suppose, I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their own lives” (Jackson). As humans develop as a race, their practices should develop with them. Shirley Jackson develops the theme that blindly following traditions is dangerous in her short story “The Lottery” through the use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony.
“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (142), the well-known quote by Old Man Warner that is familiar to Shirley Jackson’s readers is an expression that has a lot of value in the short story, “The Lottery.” This story’s title does not exactly mean what first comes to ones mind when thinking of the word “lottery”, but as the story slowly unfolds it becomes more clear of what once seemed good natured turns out to be inhumane. We learn that winning the lottery in this story means to actually win death by stoning. A tradition that only makes the protagonist Tessie Hutchinson a loser that is given as a sacrifice for the unnamed and unearthly spirit. This awful wickedness of the ordinary towns people is visible; however, Tessie Hutchinson is the
This story made me frustrated at the way people get forced into a rut that they can’t escape. Jackson Jackson isn’t completely innocent, no one is, but most of his problems were a result from the wrong that others had inflicted upon him. The frustrating part was that He was incapable of getting himself out. He did things like spend money on alcohol and cheese burgers, only to end up throwing it all up and even less money. To me, this story is about redemption. Jackson received grace from people like the good cop, and the pawnbroker. None of his own efforts changed his situation, only the kindness of others changed him. These kind deeds helped reconcile the reality of Jackson’ life and his situation. In a story like this, I always hope for a
This sounds horrible to the modern ear because human sacrifice is not just frowned upon, it is punishable by the government in most parts of the world. In a less civilized time, however, the sacrifice seems reasonable. Sacrifice one life, once a year, to have a harvest that can feed the town throughout the year. The loss of one for many, when said like this the winner of the lottery should feel lucky to have the opportunity to save the rest of the town from a hard year and increase the overall vitality of the town. Of course, this concept is even more appealing for those who lose the lottery because not only do they get to live, they get to live comfortably.
The Unalterable Human Condition Exposed in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. The short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, manages to capture various human tendencies stemming from the very heart of the unalterable human condition. The willingness to follow tradition blindly, the inherent cruelty of humans, and the unwillingness to change were the primary negative behaviors depicted in the story. The unalterable human condition is one of the truths of human existence.
The seemingly normal village is using a lottery system to pick a human for sacrifice that is executed by the villagers themselves. In one analysis it is thought that, “In a sense, the villagers of “The Lottery” are paying homage to sympathetic magic: One human sacrifice equals another good year of crops.” (Ball 1). It appears that this is why they are continuing the tradition of yearly human sacrifice around the time of harvest or summer solstice. This horrific event is amplified by the characters attitudes, environment, and outward normality. In another analysis, it states, “Nevertheless, the characters seem so wholesome, so stereotypically small-town American, that it is easy for the reader to overlook the clues that Jackson provides.” (Du Bose, 1). The slaughter of a fellow villager has become such a mindless habit to the villagers that they don’t question the reasons or morality of the lottery. The village is almost desensitized from violence and appears that they are unable to make their own conclusions about morality or human nature. In Patrick J. Shield’s article, he analyzes the characters and states, “They do not question the authority and tradition of these executions that has convinced them that what they are doing is somehow in their best interest”
The people in town, are forced to every year to participate in custom and everyone does so, without questioning. The community passively follow and accepts all rules and customs until it comes to harm them. The Lottery is well respected and feared to the villagers because they rely on the box to provide them with “good crops” for the rest of the year. People within the town do not fight back, possibly because they don’t anything other then the tradition or that they’re scared of what the consequences might be. Once the person wins, there’s no turning back, no escaping. The author states,“Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, “Come on, come on, everyone.” Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him. “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.” This highlights that everyone participates in the tradition, until they get picked to be the sacrificed then they start to realize that it's wrong, and then they have no
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a chilling tale of a harsh ritualistic gathering conducted by people of a small village. The word lottery would typically remind someone of a drawing to win a cash prize. A better comparison to the story would be the lottery used to select troops for the Vietnam War; a lottery of death. Another would be the human sacrifices the Aztecs willingly made long ago.
Tradition is huge in small towns and families and allows for unity through shared values, stories, and goals from one generation to the next. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” carries that theme of tradition. The story follows a small town that performs the tradition of holding an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. It (tradition) is valued amongst human societies around the world, but the refusal of the villagers in “The Lottery” to let go of a terrifying long-lasting tradition suggests the negative consequences of blindly following these traditions such as violence and hypocrisy.
Even through the times, traditions have remained a constant for the human race. They can be as gruesome as the Aztecs practicing human sacrifice to as simple as saying the pledge of allegiance every day. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a chilling story about the reoccurrence of an abhorrent ritual that takes place on a sunny morning. The people of this village demonstrate fear over straying from conformity and thus have the ignorance that sprouts from never trying new things. Through this short story the author portrays this fear and ignorance the human race has through her casual narration, euphemistic dialogue and morbid events.
Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is a short story about the annual gathering of the villagers to conduct an ancient ritual. The ritual ends in the stoning of one of the residents of this small village. This murder functions under the guise of a sacrament that, at one time, served the purpose of ensuring a bountiful harvest. This original meaning, however, is lost over the years and generations of villagers. The loss of meaning has changed the nature and overall purpose of the lottery. This ritual is no longer a humble sacrifice that serves the purpose of securing the harvest but instead is a ceremony of violence and murder only existing for the pleasure found in this violence.
Every year, the lottery is held, and every year a person is killed. Each villager neglects to acknowledge the unjustness of the lottery and continue to participate because of the tradition it represents in their society. The lottery was a cultural tradition passed down from the very first settlers of the village. It makes up a huge part of the village’s history and culture. The villagers pay recognition to their culture by continuing the tradition of the lottery even though the lottery is not morally right. On page 93 it states, “There was a proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year… There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came to draw from the box…” This quote shows the tribal-like rituals and traditions associated with the lottery. Through the years, some of the rituals of the lottery were lost, but the main elements of the lottery remained the same. The idea behind the lottery was that the ancestors, of the villagers, believed that human sacrifice would bring in good harvest. This led to the development and continuation
Winning vast amounts of money can make anyone slaphappy, but unfortunately this type of wager won’t be discussed in Shirley Jacksons “The Lottery.” Jackson catches the reader’s attention by describing a typical day by using words such as “blossoming, clear and sunny skies” to attract the reader into believing a calm and hopeful setting which eventually turns dark. In this short story Jackson tells a tale of a sinister and malevolent town in America that conforms to the treacherous acts of murder in order to keep their annual harvest tradition alive. Jackson exposes the monstrosity of people within this society in this chilling tale. She allows the reader’s to ponder and lead them to believe that the lottery is actually a good thing; till she implements foreshadowing, to hint at the dreadfulness behind the lottery and its meaning. My goal in this paper is to discuss why Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a portrayed as a horror story, and the importance the townspeople used to glorify ritualistic killings, to appease to an unseeable force in return of good harvest for the upcoming year.
Would you believe that there was once a village where everyone would partake in a terrible event, but think it was innocent because of how they blindly followed a tradition? The short story, “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson communicates this theme by showing how the villagers participate in a lottery every year. In life, there are people who follow tradition because the have to, or they are used to following without question. The author, Shirley Jackson was born on December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California. In 1937, Shirley Jackson attended Syracuse University where she began to write short stories. She was famous for the short story, “The Lottery,” and her best seller novel, “The Haunting of Hill House”. Shirley Jackson was famous for writing in a supernatural genre. Later on, she married a Jewish man and moved into a conservative neighborhood. She died on December 14, 1916 in North Bennington, Vermont. “The Lottery” is a profoundly ironic story where the winners really lose. The village has its own unique lottery. The winner of the game has a card with a black dot. This means the surrounding villager will stone them to death! Shirley Jackson develops her theme of the danger of blindly following tradition in her short story, "The Lottery" through the use of symbolism, mood, and irony.
In Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery", human morals and values are thrown away all for the pride of winning something. What is it that they really win? When you win the lottery in this story, you actually win death by stoning. Isn't that ironic, people actually being competitive and getting excited about death in public. What morals or values do these people really have, and how are they different from what common society is thought today?