Superstitious Traditions In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
799 Words4 Pages
Humankind has more power in larger groups than as individuals. In most cases, one single person will change when introduced in a crowd. This most definitely cripples a person and results for positive change are nearly impossible. In Shirley Jackson “The Lottery” she paints a picture that superstitious traditions can be naive, ignorant, cruel, and dishonorable. This short story shows how people are motivated by peer pressure, traditions, society, and authority.
The Lottery takes place in a little village of about 300 people, once a year. The purpose of the lottery is to have luscious corn crops. The story is wrapped around the lottery which is an evil tradition in which the towns people sacrifice a member of the town for the wishes…show more content… Morally, people should not go along with things like tradition without thinking first. Or, maybe the story is trying to express that people should stand up for what they feel in their hearts even if that means standing up to authority when authority is wrong, maybe people should protest for things they are passionate about.
“The Lottery” may mean democracy. The people of authority are controlling a town with majority of villagers. Apparently, everyone wants to hold the lottery even though it is not right. In this case, the people may be being lead in the wrong direction, just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Town's people are murdering innocent people for the cause of full and luscious corn crops.
There are hints throughout the short story that other towns are not participating in the lottery. Mr. Adams states, “that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery” (138) and that, “Some places have already quit lotteries” (138). It is clear people are not comfortable with this tradition. It is the attitude, feelings, and reactions that are typical of most people to feel guilty when they know such terrible actions are taking place. However, when people start to stand up for their own beliefs, traditions die and new ones are