Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Tradition is something that happens over time from generation to generation. In Shirley Jackson's story, The Lottery, every year, on June 27, a murder occurs. In the short story, The Lottery, people murder one of their fellow villagers without questioning why because it is a part of their tradition. The people of the village blindly follow the ritual that has been handed down to them over generations which demonstrates the dangers of conformity.

The villagers are willing to conform to a tradition that they don't understand because it started so many years ago. All of the villagers have gathered in the town square to take part in the ritual of the Lottery and the proceedings have begun. The families are waiting to draw from

the box. The villagers are talking quietly amongst themselves. The head of families are selecting a slip of paper from the lottery box. According to the text, "They do say," Mr.

Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery." Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools", he said. "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, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody. Some places have already quit lotteries." Mrs. Adams says, "Nothing but trouble in that." Old Man Warner says stoutly, "Pack of young fools. Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery. Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. Seventy-seventh time." (Jackson 4). The quote proves my thesis because it shows how the villagers do not want to change tradition. Mr. Warner is demonstrating the attitude held by the villagers when he says he has been in it for seventy seven years. He has been in the Lottery for a long time. He does not know any better. They feel the need to stick to what has been handed to them throughout

generations. The postmaster swears Mr. Summers in as the official of the Lottery. All the families are gathered around for the ceremony waiting for the official to start. The text states, "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet. wetting their lips. Not looking around. Then Mr. Summers raised one hand high and said, "Adams." A man disengaged himself from the crowd and came forward. "Hi. Steve." Mr. Summers said. and Mr. Adams said. "Hi. Joe." They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously. Then Mr. Adams reached into the black box and took out a folded paper. He held it firmly by one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd where he stood a little apart from his family not looking down at his hand. (Jackson 3). The people are blindly following the rules. They have been through it so many times that they don't even pay attention to the directions. They don't understand the purpose of the ritual and don't even question why they still have to do it. These examples demonstrate the willingness for asking questions about something they don't understand.
The people of the village demonstrate a disparity between their stated beliefs about the Lottery tradition, and actions.

They state the tradition of the Lottery is imperative to the culture of their society, yet they randomly adhere to portions of the ritual. The whole proceeding of the Lottery is filled with rules that make it seem as if it is very important in a necessary proceeding for their village. However, it seems illogical as to which parts of the ceremony are being followed. The randomness of adherence to rules undermines the belief that the Lottery is necessary. The villagers do not truly demonstrate actual reverence for the "Black Box" which symbolizes the Lottery itself... They refuse to change it or refurbish it because of a story that it was made from a piece of wood that was part of the original black box. Nevertheless, the box is treated haphazardly during the remainder and is stored uncaringly in Mr. Graves's farm, in the post office, and on a shelf in the grocery store. None of these actions represent respect for the symbol of the Lottery. A lot of things had to get done before the actual lottery began. They are talking about how the ritual has changed from drawing each person to draw from the box and how that has changed with time being. The text states, "There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with

time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching." (Jackson 2). Despite their need to stick with tradition, they allow portions of the ceremony to lapse. They made changes to simplify which is going against what they supposedly believe in. They are bringing out the ceremonial black box and preparing for the Lottery.They are talking about the black box and preparing for the event. According to the text, it states, "The rest of the year, the box was put way, sometimes one place, sometimes another; it had spent one year in Mr. Graves's barn and another year underfoot in the post office. and sometimes it was set on a shelf in the Martin grocery and left there. Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained." (Jackson 2). They went from using chips of wood to using slips of paper which shows that most of the ritual was not followed through. These examples show that the Black Box symbolizes the Lottery itself.
Despite there being no real consequences for disbanding the lottery, the villagers feel their action of murder is justified because it is simply a part of tradition. The villagers are prosecuting an innocent member of their society for no reason. The tradition of the Lottery defies the family bonds as members of one's own family turn on one another the minute their name is drawn from the box. The Hutchinson family's name had been selected from the box. They are going to do the second step of the drawing in which the actual individual is determined for stoning. Mrs. Hutchinson is accusing them of not being fair and not allowing him enough time to choose the papers. To prove this point, the text states, "People began to look around to see the Hutchinson's. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!" "Be a good sport, Tessie." Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said, "All of us took the same chance." "Shut up, Tessie," Bill Hutchinson said. "How many kids, Bill?" Mr. Summers asked formally. "Three," Bill Hutchinson said. "There's Bill, Jr., and Nancy, and little Dave. And Tessie and me." (Jackson 5). While Tessie is complaining about the fairness of the Lottery, the other villagers tell her that they all took the same chance and encouraged her to be a good sport. They are using the fact that they were all at risk as justification to carry out murder. Secondly, it's ironic that Tessie is complaining about the fairness of the Lottery rather than questioning why they are still continuing to carry out the tradition of murdering innocent people, especially when it is her family that is at risk. In the story, All the members of the Hutchinson family have chosen slips during round two and they are revealing who has drawn the slip with the mark. They are revealing the paper with the black dot. According to the text,' "Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause, and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it. It was blank. "It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill." Bill Hutchinson goes over to his wife and forces the slip of paper out of her hand. It has a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson holds it up, and there is a stir in the crowd. "All right, folks." Mr. Summers said. "Let's finish quickly." (Jackson 6). Bill Hutchinson doesn't do anything to try and stop the proceedings. He follows Mr. Summer's instruction to force Tessie to show her slip of paper. He feels powerless in the situation and does nothing to change it. The members of the Hutchinson family blindly follow the tradition and turn on their wife/mother. This demonstrates how conformity to tradition has replaced loyalty to one's family in this village.
Conformity to tradition can be dangerous if left unquestioned, especially if that tradition is violating human rights. In the story, the villagers murdered innocent people because it was part of a tradition that had been handed down over many generations. The villagers no longer remembered the origin of their tradition and many parts of the ceremonial proceedings had been lost over time, yet they felt strongly that the tradition had to be continued. No one questioned why innocent community members were being allowed to be persecuted in the name of tradition. The adherence to tradition had superseded the bonds of loyalty and family relationships in this village. It is important to learn to think for yourself. Blind conformity can be dangerous for a society and make it difficult for individuals to attain personal happiness. Critical thinking and logic are needed for growth in society and as an individual. It is important to question things in order to find the truth. It is important because it helps to point out how prejudices become pervasive within society. When you do not think for yourself and just blindly follow tradition or other people's beliefs, you are not doing anything to bring about change. Religious prejudices, sexual orientation prejudices, racial prejudices come about because certain groups are deemed to be different, and the intolerance for their differences often lead to their persecution within society. Only with critical thinking, can prejudicial ideology be torn apart and equal rights be promoted within society.