Sometimes following traditions blindly without questioning its origins and consequences can be fatal. Overtime, these traditions managed to carry on simply because they had been practiced by many generations before. Nkepile Mabuse, a CNN news reporter, reveals the newly found practice of breast ironing in Cameroon in her article, "Breast Ironing Tradition Targeted in Cameroon." This practice has been around for ages, and surprisingly it is still practiced for the belief that it will stop early pregnancies if the breasts of young women are burned to a smaller size (Mabuse par. 3). The breast ironing practice is an example of old fashion tradition and superstition, which is exactly what Shirley Jackson targets in her short story "The Lottery,"
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Maybe it is to avoid shame, and gain family honor, or maybe it holds great fear leading to a superstition that generations have been warned about. Jackson 's story "The Lottery" explains exactly how far people are willing to go without questioning a tradition that has been passed on for generations. Jackson illustrates the extremes a society will go forth with in order to follow ancient fairy tales; even if it means stoning a neighborly woman to death by children who will one day follow those same traditions. This makes it a never ending chain which will have no success if attempted to be broken. This reading gives us all a glimpse of life, the yin and yang, where you can find life and death, joy and sorrow, and a horrific ending to such a pleasant story; however, as one closely rereads Jackson 's story, it becomes eminent that the story was cleverly prepared with the use of foreshadowing towards an ending that almost no one saw coming. Jackson masks the ending, and builds suspense naturally which makes it hard for the audience to anticipate such a shocking
Maybe it is to avoid shame, and gain family honor, or maybe it holds great fear leading to a superstition that generations have been warned about. Jackson 's story "The Lottery" explains exactly how far people are willing to go without questioning a tradition that has been passed on for generations. Jackson illustrates the extremes a society will go forth with in order to follow ancient fairy tales; even if it means stoning a neighborly woman to death by children who will one day follow those same traditions. This makes it a never ending chain which will have no success if attempted to be broken. This reading gives us all a glimpse of life, the yin and yang, where you can find life and death, joy and sorrow, and a horrific ending to such a pleasant story; however, as one closely rereads Jackson 's story, it becomes eminent that the story was cleverly prepared with the use of foreshadowing towards an ending that almost no one saw coming. Jackson masks the ending, and builds suspense naturally which makes it hard for the audience to anticipate such a shocking