In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, we learn that it’s about a town with a dark past and a very unique ritual. Many aspects of this ritual and tradition seem to be just as old as the town itself, especially since most of the residents don’t recall any of the old rituals, even the Old Man Warner, who is “celebrating” his 77th lottery. This means that they are archaic in some ways and rooted in traditions of superstitions that seem to involve crops and human sacrifice. During the Salem Witch Trials
Coulthard, A.R. "Jackson's THE LOTTERY." Explicator 48.3 (1990): 226. Literary Reference Center. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. This article tells how the villagers in the community show no love for thy neighbor but actually looks forward to the execution of one of their own. This goes to show that "The Lottery" is not an assault on mindless, cultural conformity. It is a grim, even nihilistic, parable of the evil inherent in human nature”(A.R. Coulthard pg.226). This is true because the villagers would rather