Research Paper On The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Tradition Hurts

A tradition is a belief or custom that has been passed down from generation to generation. Traditions tend to influence how people act and live in their society. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” a small village gathers in excitement to partake in their yearly tradition, the lottery. The lottery requires the heads of each family to select a piece of paper out of the infamous black wooden box, similar to how their ancestors once did it. The individual that is left holding the paper with the black dot receives the opportunity for their family to take the grand prize. Next, each member of the family approaches the black box, one by one, and chooses a paper. The individual that possesses the paper with the marking is the unlucky

winner and is stoned to death by their fellow villagers which include the members of their own family. The lottery demonstrates how the role of tradition creates unity amongst the villagers while it provides a connection to the past but when one senselessly follows the tradition it can bring out the inherent evil of an individual, and if abandoned can lead to bad luck.
The tradition of the lottery brought the villagers closer together. Every year on June 27th at ten o’clock in the morning, the people would gather at the village square in between the bank and the post office. The narrator notes, “The children assembled first . . . and they broke into boisterous play” (Jackson 247). As the boys collected stones, the girls “stood talking among themselves . . . and the very small children rolled in the dust” (Jackson 247). The children were having a good time while the men stood together talking about tractors and taxes and, telling jokes. The women came after the men, “They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip” (Jackson 247). The gathering allows the villagers a time to bond while creating strong connections and unity throughout the village but it is not the only connection they make.
The tradition of the lottery is a way to provide the villagers a connection to their past. By participating in this yearly tradition, they honor the people that came before them and welcome the new generation. This is evident when Bobby Martin, Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix began to collect the stones and place them in a pile for later use which demonstrates their knowledge and understanding of the end result, the stoning. The narrator mentions that little Davy, the Hutchinson’s youngest boy, placed his hand in the black box and Mr. Summers utters, “Just take one paper” (Jackson 251), as if it was Davy’s first time drawing from the lottery. Then later in the story the narrator reveals, “someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” (Jackson 252), which implies that the tradition is being introduced and passed down to a new generation. The tradition of the lottery is not only a way to honor their ancestors but it prevented the village from being cursed with bad fortune.
Many feared if the tradition of the lottery is broken it will bring bad luck to the village and no one is more adamant than the superstitious Old Man Warner. He states, “[The] Lottery in June, corn [will] be heavy soon. First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns” (Jackson 250), which implies that the lottery is a sacrificial ritual to please the gods to ensure the village receives an abundant harvest and failure to practice the ritual will put the well being and health of the village in jeopardy. Old Man Warner also mentions, “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves” (Jackson 250), which suggest that not only is the food supply in danger but so is the way of living and having to revert back to living as they did in prehistoric times is not an option. Old Man Warner is a true believer of the tradition but is not bothered by its barbaric nature.
The people of the village senselessly follow the tradition of the lottery even though it causes them to do horrible things while using its tradition as an excuse.

The winner of the lottery is stoned to death and this brings out the inherent evil of the villagers. From a very young age, the villagers are groomed to follow tradition as it is evident when the boys would gather and select “the smoothest and roundest stones” (Jackson 247). The boys enjoyed the stoning and appeared to be experts. They preferred the stones they can throw with accuracy so they can impose pain on the unlucky person who won the lottery for the sake of tradition. In the story, Mrs. Delacroix appears to be good friends with Mrs. Hutchinson but once Mrs. Hutchinson picks the unlucky paper with the black dot her demeanor changes and her evil side takes over. The narrator states, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Hurry Up’ ” (Jackson 252). Mrs. Delacroix did not want to just inflict pain but possibly place the fatal blow. She knew the stoning is a group effort and wanted Mrs. Dunbar to join in. Another villager had evil intentions when they placed stones in the hands of little Davy. Mrs. Hutchinson’s youngest son is coerced into partaking in the massacre of his own mother. The narrator notes, “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual . . . they still remembered to use the stones” (Jackson 252), which demonstrates the evil that lies inherently in them and the pleasure the villagers receive from the horrific stoning of a fellow

neighbor.
The lottery symbolizes the tradition of the people and the role it played in their society. Every year in June, the town is brought closer together to take part in the experience. It is important to the villagers to recreate the rituals their ancestors once performed while continuing to have an eternal connection to their past but they fear the possible consequences if the tradition is to be abandoned. The potential livelihood and health of the village could be at risk. Also, following the tradition blindly brought out the evil side of the villagers and made them do terrible things which is normally unacceptable on any other day but June 27th.