Free Essay on Shirley Jackson's The Lottery - Just Another Holiday Shirley Jackson Lottery Essays

Just Another Holiday in The Lottery

Anyone with the slightest knowledge of history, or current events, must be aware of many events, where, in time of turmoil, society has had a tendency to seize upon a scapegoat as means of resolution. Countless politicians, military leaders, corporate executives and school administrators frequently use this proven technique. The people of the small village were very similar to the leaders of our society. The village people believed that someone had to be sacrificed to insure a good crop. "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon", said Old Man Warner. It is scary to realize the similarities in the reasoning of the villagers and the reasoning employed today. The villagers are aware that the sacrifice is inhumane but none want to stand and voice their opinion, for fear of going against societys standards and being outcast or being stoned. "Its not the way it used to be," Old Man Warner said clearly. "People aint the way they used to be." The population fears that if they go against society they might be chosen as the lottery winner - or they fear that it would disrupt their corn season. "Some places have already quit lotteries," Mrs. Adams said. "Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."

In stoning Tessie, the villagers treat her as a scapegoat onto which they can project and repress their own temptations to rebel. The only person who shows their rebellious attitude is Tessie. She does not appear to take the ritual seriously, as she comes rushing to the square because she "clean forgot what day it was". The villagers are aware of her rebellious attitude and they are weary that she may be a possible cause for their crops not to be plentiful. "It isnt fair, it isnt right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.

One can understand how traditions are easily lost through the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another. Traditions that lose their meaning due to human forgetfulness can cause dreadful consequences to occur. Although "the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original box, they still remembered to use stones" to kill the forgetful woman.

Does a society just pick and choose which part of a tradition they want to keep? One tends to remember the actions and the objects necessary to proceed with a ritual, but one may forget the purpose or the reason behind it. Is one correct in continuing a tradition even though there is a victim involved? The individual, as part of a society, is afraid of ridicule. If one ends a tradition, and society still behaves in the manner they were taught, then ridicule will be the result. "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions," shows that the meaning and purpose behind the ritual had been lost and the society just acting it out through repetition. The villagers, who remember some bits of history about those forgotten aspects of the ritual, arent even definite about the accuracy of their beliefs. Some believe that the "official of the lottery should stand" a certain way when he sang the chant, others believe that he should "walk among the people". No one exactly remembers the how and why of the tradition, most have become completely desensitized to the murderous rituals. Because the adults have forgotten the traditions history, the children know even less and they are desensitized to murder, thinking its just another fun holiday like Christmas.