Traditions arise due to the accumulation of experience of generations and people’s interpretation of any events in the world. Traditions are a part of the culture and allow the preservation of language, foundations, and nationalities. However, traditions can harm the life and formation of a society. In The Lottery, Shirley Jackson draws attention to the harm of tradition and its detrimental effect on human life. The story’s central idea is blind adherence to tradition and an unwillingness to retreat from it in favor of fictional notions.
The lottery is an annual rite of choosing a family from which a person will be selected to be sacrificed for a good harvest. Note the timing of the tradition: “it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning … allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner” (Jackson, 2020). In addition, the atmosphere is reminiscent of a holiday: thick grass, and bright flowers. Is there any hint or sign of future human cruelty? Not, yet slowly Jackson brings the reader to the ceremony of choice.
Does the reader notice the pace of the story and the actors? If one looks closely, one sees references to the Hutchinson family: a woman Tessa anxiously strives at the lottery site. There are the disappointing results of the lottery: her family is chosen. Tessa protests: “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted” but not even her husband Bill listens to her voice (Jackson, 2020). Jackson brings the reader to this point when Tessa has been chosen, and the villagers have only asked her not to run away from her fate.
Beginning as a rite of passage for a bountiful harvest and “corn be heavy soon,” the story quickly becomes the center of a cluster of human evil and harshness. The village’s gutless inhabitants follow traditions that other towns have long since abandoned. Old Man Warner expresses grievous discontent, “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them,” pointing to the need for fidelity to tradition (Jackson, 2020).
Jackson draws attention to the fact that tradition here is an instrument of violence, and no one from the village even notices it because they are afraid to back down. After the decision is announced, Tessa never stops repeating, “It’s not fair!” but old man Warner continues to call out to the crowd (Jackson, 2020). Warner is a prime example of a man who does not want to see the full horror of the ritual, and Jackson described him as a bit of leader who leads the wicked people.
The relevance of adhering to tradition never ceases to matter in today’s world, which is why “The Lottery” continues to be discussed. The hints reveal more vividly with reading and thereby make one wonder about the rationality of upholding tradition. Despite the necessity of traditions for the preservation of culture and history, some of them are cruel. Jackson drew attention to the crowd effect of following made-up rules. Thus, blind adherence to tradition can be very harmful and destructive to the individual.
Work Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery”. The New Yorker. 2020. Web.