Analyzing Tradition as a Theme in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”

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Throughout history, tradition has been considered sacred. Throughout Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” the characters closely follow the tradition of a yearly lottery within the village. To these villagers, the tradition of the lottery is very important. This is most likely due to the fact that there is no one who would even dare to mess with it, because the villagers are all too afraid to say anything and cause a fuss. The traditions of the village lottery bring the town together, even though the outcome is unfortunate for the winner. Jackson uses tradition in the story to create meaning in the characters and their lottery. The tradition of the lottery, blindly following the lottery rules, and the occasional lack of tradition as a whole make Jackson’s “The Lottery” an effective short story.
The tradition of the lottery is a very important part of life for the people of the village. Even though some of the original traditions have been lost over time, they continue to try and follow what they still have as closely as possible. For example, Mr. Summers asks Janey if there is someone else who could draw for her, even though “Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally” (392). The people of the village are acquainted with each other, but when it comes to tradition, personal affairs don’t matter. This seriousness is also exemplified through the black box and how “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new [one], but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (391). The people of the village are very cautious about changing any sort of tra...

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... other traditions, just as there is no logical reason why the villagers should hold the lottery at all. The lack of lottery traditions, whether they have been lost or just discarded completely, creates meaning by showing that the lottery is illogical.
The presence of tradition in “The Lottery” gives the village something to consider important, even though the traditions may be considered outdated. However, the villagers follow their lottery rituals so closely that they are unable to see what they are actually doing, which is randomly killing one villager without reason, other that it is what they have always done. Furthermore, some traditions are forgotten completely, leaving voids in the overall point of the lottery. Overall, throughout “The Lottery”, tradition is a reoccurring element that helps aid in the development of the setting, characters, and style.

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