Blind Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

In “Omelas” similar to “the lottery” the choice for sacrifice was as well random, also sacrifice is done to guarantee agriculture success. Because of this the people of Omelas like the people of “The lottery” they as well are jaded to what happen to the people or person who makes the sacrifice to keep the utopia afloat, “They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas” (3).unlike “Omelas”, “the lottery” is told to be an isolated case and many in the surrounding area view it as an old practice and do not do it anymore, while Omelas everyone there survives and lives by the practice to the T. “The lottery” believes in fair random selection through ballots whilst the information given about the picking of the child is very vague in Omelas. Last point to make is, though both do it to appease a higher power for prosperity, “Omelas” vague policies had no loop holes and is followed by everybody who wish to stay in Omelas,but for the people in “The Lottery” they could simply fake an Injury and or not participated

It was his 77th time participating and he is threatened by change. When he hears that the village next door does not do it, he states, “Pack of crazy fools. Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them” (Jackson 423). He accepts tradition and is superstitious. He believes that if the lottery is not done, then the villagers will have to be hunter-gatherers, “The ritual is the cement that keeps the society from slipping back into a brutish nature” (Barlow).

Daniel Shays did accomplish Shays rebellion. Shays Rebellion farmers couldn’t pay their taxes and the government was going to take their farms at first Shay’s Rebellion did not succeed but they did solve a plan. But Daniel did die on September 29,1825 But it had nothing to do with Shays Rebellion. In his later life he became a leader in the revolt of small farmers that resulted from post war economic depression; the uprising became known as Shays's Rebellion.

An’ then I’ll come back an’ work another month an’ I’ll have fifty bucks more.” Here John Steinbeck uses repetition to make it abundantly clear to the reader that George has forsaken his dream, and chosen to become the lonely farm worker he once felt empathy towards. Although some may argue that George's reaction to the broken dream is not one of grief, but rather one of indifference, as he does not believe in the dream, this is opinion is quickly refuted when we are able to see his belief in the attainability of the dream grow as he discusses the dream with Candy and

The themes of both stories deal with them blindly following tradition. In the story The Lottery, the villagers follow tradition in which it ends with stoning. The villagers systematically choose someone through a lottery and in the end the one chosen is stoned to death. The villagers forgot exactly why they do the lottery tradition but they follow it because it gives them a simple solution for the growing population and for a better harvest they believe, as mentioned by Old Man Warner, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” Similar to the

It occurs when Tessie gets the paper because instead of winning something Tessie gets killed. Since the story's title is “The Lottery” the readers think she going to win something because that's what happens at lottery, but she didn't she ended up getting killed. The word symbolism is a system of symbols or representations (Merriam 1). The “black box” represents evil or death, suggested by the color of the box.

The town from “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, is the epitome of how a society can be torn apart through the practice of blind tradition. For example, when the rules are being read for the lottery and all the townsfolk are standing by, they “had done it so many times that they only listened to half of the directions” (3). This shows that the townspeople ignore many of the rules, not wanting or willing to challenge authority. Through the practice of blindly following tradition, the villagers don’t have the confidence to question what is rights, since they have always done the same thing. In addition, certain people develop doubts about the lottery, as Old Man Warner says “’It ain’t the way it used to be… people ain’t the way they used to

The story “The Lottery,” contains subtle instances of foreshadowing. The first example is the stones the children gather and place into piles. Secondly, Mr. Summers questions if the son of Mr. Watson will take over the drawing for his family this year due to Mr. Watson’s absence. Although both events differ, they foreshadow the same conclusion, i.e the fate of the lottery winner.

The short story “The lottery” is about a small village that has an annual lottery in which the winner gets stoned to death. Many of the townspeople know this is inhumane, but they choose not to speak out because their name isn’t picked. Jackson uses direct characterization to describe all the characters in the village and uses symbolism throughout the story. Not to forget about the vivid description of the setting in the beginning of the short story. Shirley

The short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson is full of literary elements. The old and innocent, small town atmosphere creates the perfect stage for this ironic tale. Several literary elements are evident throughout the composition but three specific elements stand out the most. Jackson’s unique ability to use tone and style, symbolism, and theme are what makes this story so fascinating. Tone and style are critical literary elements in “The Lottery.”

n Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery”, the author constructs a story full of symbolism, permitted horror, and a traditionalized ritual that serves as a front for an evil purpose, and ultimately reveals a towns ignorance in blindly following tradition. In small towns like the one in “The Lottery,” it is customary to uphold traditions. It functions as a way to bring together generations of community and family. The town is busy preparing for their tradition called the lottery.

Every individual has the opportunities to achieve the dream, but only those who put effort into it are able to achieve it. Unlike in some countries, it is possible for Americans to rise above the economic situations into which they were born and make a living for themselves. Gatsby came from a farming family that was not well off, but because he was determined to do more, he was able to achieve the amount of wealth he believed would be suitable for Daisy. When trying to explain how Gatsby had become what he was, Nick said, ”His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people — his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all. The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself…”

The town holds a “lottery” on the morning of June 27th every year to see who will be the sacrifice. All of the citizens are content with this tradition simply because that’s what it is, a tradition. They’ve all lived long enough to have never drawn the black dot so why would they now? They have seen many random and innocent members of their community become a scapegoat so the town can thrive in happiness, agriculture, and other aspects of life; who is to say they are next? Everyone is content with the idea of sacrifice for the well-being of the community, that is, until it is them who draws the black dot.

The darker action in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is the fact that the winner is stoned to death. The whole town believes in this crazy ritual. They believe a lottery in June means more corn soon. To all the people in the town this is just a normal way of life and no one is brave enough to suggest that the lottery be stopped. Other towns have stopped the lottery and old Man Warner snorts that they are a pack of crazy fools no good will come from them.

Many people would die to win the lottery; in the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson you would do anything NOT to win this lottery. This annual lottery reveals the negative aspects of this town’s Tradition, Savagery, Barbarism, and cold-heartedness. In this paper I will show why this town blindly follows these customs, not because it’s a tradition but because of the accepting wickedness that can be shown. Why does the town follow this foolish tradition? Throughout “The Lottery” the narrator tells that the people do not remember how the lottery began, and that some of the older people believe the lottery has changed over the years, that now people just want to get it over with as fast as possible.