Tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - 1774 Words

Easily regarded as one of America’s most beloved short stories, â€Å"The Lottery,† by Shirley Jackson, leaves readers with excitement and perhaps a small sense of doubt. Doubt could be an aspect of the reader’s mind due to the gory fact of the cultural tradition in the small farming town of the story. Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery† displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and the use of symbolism throughout the story. This means the village is unable to move past their tradition while symbolism is shown through character’s names such as Old Man Warner and Tessie and through various objects in the story like the stool and the black box. However, another reason tradition stays could be the possibility of superstition.†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Pack of young fools† (Jackson 76, par. 8-9). These quotes display the contrasting attitudes between other villages and Old Man Warner’s. Even as sick as i t sounds, the lottery brings the townspeople together because they are connected by one common goal. And even though such an action as detestable as the lottery continues to happen, the townspeople want to hold onto something blindly because it has been passed down from generations. In this town the goal is the killing of an innocent soul (DiYanni 1, 5). Most of the townspeople believe it is a rash and dumb idea to do away with the lottery, proving that their view of human life is vastly distorted. They let their viewpoint be distorted because the lottery was such â€Å"as matter of fact† to them, and the lottery provides them with some sort of closure and a sense of fulfillment. The village is unwilling to move past their traditions because it has been a part of their society for so long. Sometimes people do things not because they agree with, or know exactly what they are doing, but for the reason that the tradition has been in tact for so long. Even though multiple surrounding towns have banished the lottery from their Almanac, Shirley Jackson’s short story village continues to hold true to their unwritten law. For no solidified reason, the village cannot move past what has been passed down by their ancestors. The reason why the town will not move on is yet to be completely determined,Show MoreRelatedTradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Essay1229 Words   |  5 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tradition; it is the back bone of every culture and civilization. It is what keeps the beliefs, philosophies, and activities of societies alive, to be passed down from generation to generation. However not all traditions are practiced with pure intentions.   Some activities become so routine, people don’t know a life outside of them. Societies become so accustomed to â€Å"tradition† that they will participate in pastimes without   questioning the ethics or morals of the situation. 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