Following tradition blindly is a weakness, it is a crutch people use to try and understand where they fit in the world, and to find purpose in their lives. People default to tradition because it allows them to be apart of something bigger, to belong outside of their physical being. Through her story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson shows what the possible consequences of relying to heavily on certain traditions are, and that if one places too much importance on tradition it can be the death of them. Shirley Jackson demonstrates that the greatest human failing is our inhumanity brought out or hidden through tradition, and that in following traditions blindly there will be repercussions such as unnecessary violence. Jackson exemplifies this through: …show more content…
This idea of masking cruelty with neighbourliness, is also mentioned in articles, such as Nebeker 's where she analyzes and explains the further symbolic meanings found within the story. Nebeker believes that tradition is the major importance within the story, and that the setting is important in bringing up issues with tradition such as people becoming accustomed to it (Nebeker 1974). Jackson couples the setting with the information, or lack of, surrounding the lottery itself. Throughout the story, one can find many examples leading them to understand that the lottery has become an outdated tradition. No one knows why they hold the lottery every year, rather they go along with it because it is what they know, what they seem as safe. Depending solely on tradition means that nothing new can come out of society, as people are too deeply rooted in their roots. In this tradition kills the possible potential for a new type of society as the villagers are not interested in venturing into the unknown. Just as Old Man Warner states, "There 's always been a lottery" (Jackson 434), and the villagers are happy with that as long as they get to continue living as they always have been. Not only can violent traditions become normal and acceptable in people 's lives, …show more content…
This specific part of the ritual has been tied back to potential Islam conflicts of the time period. Stoning is a very old tradition within the Islam faith, and the process of picking the stones parallels with the Islamic rite, Ramy Al Jamarat, in which pilgrims throw pebbles at Satan to show their defiance of the Devil (Al- Joulan 2010). Another parallel to Islam is the death penalty by stoning as a punishment for adultery. This is the case because Tessie is stoned in a clearing, devoid of civilization, the fact that it was a woman being stoned, and the stone sizes described in the Islamic tradition are also correctly represented within Jackson 's lottery ritual (Al-Joulan 2010). Jackson also ties in the violence and lost history of the lottery ritual, with the fact that the ritual itself has also changed over seventy seven years. This lottery represents Old Man Warner 's seventy seventh time being in the lottery, and to his dismay he noted that the lottery is not what it used to be. He says, "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there
“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.
Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery', is a story that is filled with symbolism. The author uses symbolism to help her represent human nature as tainted, no matter how pure one thinks of himself or herself, or how pure their environment may seem to be. The story is very effective in raising many questions about the pointless nature of humanity regarding tradition and violence. 'The Lottery' clearly expresses Jackson's feelings concerning mankind?s evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents the theme of this short story with a major use of symbolism. Symbolism shows throughout the setting of 'The Lottery,' the objects, the peoples actions, and even in the time and the names of the lucky contestants.
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.
Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery” satirically creates a society that puts the importance of tradition above even the life of the members of the community, as indicated by Old Man Warner’s response to Mr. Adams stating, “‘[O]ver in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.’ Old Man Warner snorted. ‘Pack of crazy fools … Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them … There’s always been a lottery,’ he added petulantly” (413). Here Old Man Warner defends the tradition of their society, though notably without justifying the tradition. Rather, he focuses on the people of other villages and the tradition as self-evident, both logical fallacies. The first argument he makes in favor of continuing to have a lottery is an ad
Through my research and findings of obedience to authority this ancient dilemma is somewhat confusing but needs understanding. Problem with obedience to authority has raised a question to why people obey or disobey and if there are any right time to obey or not to obey. Through observation of many standpoints on obedience and disobedience to authority, and determined through detailed examination conducted by Milgram “The Perils Of Obedience,” Doris Lessing “Group Minds” and Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”. We have to examine this information in hopes of understanding or at least be able to draw our own theories that can be supported and proven on this subject.
Tradition is a central theme in Shirley Jackon's short story The Lottery. Images such as the black box and characters such as Old Man Warner, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Hutchinson display to the reader not only the tenacity with which the townspeople cling to the tradition of the lottery, but also the wavering support of it by others. In just a few pages, Jackson manages to examine the sometimes long forgotten purpose of rituals, as well as the inevitable questioning of the necessity for such customs.
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.
One main theme in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is tradition nonetheless. Although tradition is most commonly thought to be somewhat of a social glue that holds families and communities together, Shirley Jackson reveals a whole new side consisting of the dangers following traditional practices. The lottery is normalized as being an early summer ritual that proves to be consistent and promising in a plentiful harvest, as mentioned by Old Man Warner. The real purpose of the lottery is never fully explained, but it is still conducted every year without suggestion of discontinuation. There proves to be a pattern of tendency to be trapped by tradition.
In conclusion, Jackson’s story is one warning of the dangers of blindly following tradition and the randomness of prosecution. The author indirectly hints to the true nature of the lottery through the use of objects, settings, and symbolism. The residents of the village learn from a young age to essentially disregard reasoning when carrying out the Lottery in order to preserve tradition. Throughout the story, the villagers do not dare cross the line of questioning the ritual because that is all they know. Just like in real life, most do not question the significance of tradition until it is often too late. The lottery is an extreme example of what can happen if traditions are not examined critically by new generations.
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.
In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the theme of the story is dramatically illustrated by Jackson’s unique tone. Once a year the villagers gather together in the central square for the lottery. The villagers await the arrival of Mr. Summers and the black box. Within the black box are folded slips of paper, one piece having a black dot on it. All the villagers then draw a piece of paper out of the box. Whoever gets the paper with the black dot wins. Tessie Hutchinson wins the lottery! Everyone then closes in on her and stones her to death. Tessie Hutchinson believes it is not fair because she was picked. The villagers do not know why the lottery continues to exist. All they know is that it is a tradition they are not willing to abandon. In “The Lottery,” Jackson portrays three main themes including tradition, treason, and violence.
In “The Lottery”, Jackson wrote about a special tradition of a small village. June 27th was warm and sunny, and it gave the impression like nothing could possibly go wrong. Everyone knows the lottery as an exciting thing, and everybody wants to win, but this lottery is unlike any other. This lottery was actually the tradition of stoning of an innocent villager; that year it was Tessie Hutchinson. Though the horrific ending was not expected, throughout the story Jackson gave subtle hints that this was not an average lottery. Jackson foreshadowed the death of Tessie Hutchinson with stones, the black box, and the three legged stool; she showed that unquestioning support of tradition can be fatal.
The characters in a short story are vital to understanding everything that the author has put into her work. Most of Shirley Jackson’s characters in “The Lottery” adapt as the story goes on, revealing their true opinions and behaviors. Her characters are also true to life, which establishes realism in her stories. Tess, Old Man Warner, and the women of this story all provide outlooks and opinions that shape “The Lottery” into the constructive story it is.
The townspeople seem to have mixed emotions about the lottery; they fear it yet on a very barbaric level they enjoy it. By standing "away from the pile of stones," and keeping their distance from the black box, the villagers show their fear of the lottery (Jackson 863). However, once they find out who is going to be stoned, Tessie Hutchinson, they seem to actually enjoy the stoning. One villager picks up a stone so big she can barely carry it; someone even gives Tessie’s youngest son a few pebbles to throw at his mother. Their overall attitude about the stoning is summed up by the phrase "and then they were...
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 they 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.