Summary Of The Lottery: A Sacred Tradition

    "The Lottery," a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale about a disturbing social practice.  The setting takes place in a small village consisting of about three hundred denizens.  On June twenty-seventh of every year, the members of this traditional community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate.  Throughout the story, the reader gets an odd feeling regarding the residents and their annual practice.  Not until the end does he or she gets to know what the lottery is about.  Thus, from the beginning of the story until almost the end, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen due to the Jackson's effective

Luck always plays a hand in chance, but when the luck runs out, who’s there to lend a hand? In the story, The Lottery, a small New England town graces the reader’s eyes. Within this town, there is a deadly tradition about taking a chance. Tessie Hutchinson ends up being the one to risk it all and her fate is sealed with the sweet kiss of many stones. Symbolism plays a major key in this story, and it’s shown by names, objects and the setting, which conceals the true meaning of the lottery.

The point of view of tradition in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is the normal once of year gathering on the townspeople. This gathering is held in order to pick, via a lottery drawing, to decide who in the town is going to be stoned to death. “The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many people the lottery took two days and had started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, and the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 2013, pp. 251). The fact

There is an air of festivity among them, especially the children. Only a few in the crowd reveal slight hints of tension or unease. The lottery has a long history in this and surrounding towns. The people who run it—in this town, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves—work hard to preserve the rituals that have been passed down from year to year.

Nebeker, Helen E. “The Lottery’: Symbolic Touch De Force” Short Story Criticism, edited by Jenny Cromie, vol. 39, Gale Group, 2000, 75 vols, pp. 187-90. Originally published in American Literature, vol. 46, no. 1, March, 1974, pp. 100-07.

there is quiet conversation between friends. Mr. Summers, who runs the lottery, arrives with a black box. The original box was lost many years ago, even before Old Man Warner, the oldest person in the village, can remember. Each year Mr. Summers suggests that they make a new box, but no one is willing to go against tradition. The people were willing to use slips of paper instead of woodchips as markers, as the village had grown too large for the wood chips to fit in the box. A list of all the families and households in the village is made, and several matters of who will draw for each family are decided. Mr. Summers is sworn in as the official of the lottery in a specific ceremony. Some people remember that there used to be a song and salute as part of the ceremony, but these are no longer performed. Tessie Hutchinson arrives in the square late because she has forgotten what day it was. She joins her husband and children before the lottery can begin. Mr. Summers explains the lottery’s rules: each family will be called up to the box and draw a slip of paper. One of the villagers tells Old Man Warner that the people of a nearby village are thinking about ending the lottery. Old Man Warner laughs at the idea. He believes that giving up the lottery would cause nothing but trouble, and a loss of civilized behavior. A woman responds that some places have already given up the lottery. Everyone finishes drawing, and each

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.

Shirley Jackson's story, The Lottery is about a group of towns people who meet every year on the 27th of June. On this day a stoning takes place, as it washes away the sins of everyone that lived in the village. However, should the tradition of the stoning be changed when it becomes your time?

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 “tradition” that they will participate in pastimes without  questioning the ethics or morals of the situation. Ultimately when tradition takes the place of a rationalizing mind the outcome can be incredibly dangerous. The role of tradition is an underlying theme in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, forcing readers to ask themselves “At what point do

There are numerous origins and types of traditions. A tradition is something that everyone believes in their own way of understanding and they practice that tradition. However, there are many ways to believe or not believe in other’s traditions. A tradition is the handing down of a statement, beliefs, legends, customs, and information from generation to generation. It can be transferred by word of mouth, action or by practice. Everyone has their own way to practice their tradition and beliefs. It can also be the best way to teach children where their family came from. Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery,” started her story with the description of a clear, sunny summer day in a small village. The townspeople were beginning to gather in the town square for the annual “lottery”. The lottery was like a ritual for the townspeople. Usually, it happens every June of the year at the place where young boys collect pebbles with their pockets full of numerous stones and where some women gossip others and laugh together, foreshadowing the twisted ending to this chilling short story “The Lottery” displays the theme of unwavering ritualistic tradition and the use of symbolism throughout the story. In fact, “The Lottery” is an important part of the culture of the village and has been practiced for many years, much longer than anyone still living can remember. While the original function of the ceremony may have been lost, that does not mean that it never had a purpose.

Old Man Warner is the epitome of the lottery and its tradition. He is the oldest man in town, having participated in seventy-seven lotteries total. As a steadfast advocate for keeping things exactly how they stand and someone who is threatened by the idea of change, he distinguishes all the towns and the young people who have stopped pursuing the lottery as a “pack of crazy fools” (Jackson, 27). He is trapped within the past traditions, even if they should not sustain. Being the antagonist, Old Man Warner does not veer away from the tradition, even though many others do not agree with it.

The tradition known as “The Lottery” is an old one that almost every village would do, but by the time that the story is set in most of them had stopped doing the lottery already. Nobody in the village knew why they would do this tradition or what it meant at all. They would just stone people each time someone won for no particular reason except that its “The Lottery.” The black box used in the lottery itself was also not even the original one which shows you that the villagers didn't even know the real meaning to the tradition.

Why is it that certain cultures continue to honor traditions and practices that were thought of thousands of years ago? For example, many cultures continue to sacrifice animals and worship inanimate sculptures. The big factor is that these cultures have been practicing these traditions for decades so they do not know any better. Most cultures have a purpose as to why they perform these rituals and practices; whether it is to honor a loved one, hope for a healthy harvest or to please the gods.

The townspeople are holding a lottery because the lottery is an annual tradition that has been held for many years in all the villages in a

Traditions are everywhere, they are big, small, good, and bad. In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, the village engages in an unforgettably unfortunate tradition. Jackson portrays the tradition in great chronological detail so that the audience can understand and learn to evaluate their personal traditions more closely. The chronological events that occur in the short story portray to the readers that the ancient tradition may seem logical but it is actually tragic.