“The Lottery” can be said to be one of the most well known short stories in American literature, and is described as a chilling tale of conformity gone wrong. Shirley Jackson, the author of “The Lottery” writes a story of a small town in modern-day America with a peculiar yearly tradition. Jackson centers her story on a small town, in which once every year on June 27th, its citizens randomly draw the name of one townsperson to be sacrificed, death by stoning, in order to ensure a good harvest. The victim’s body remains are be used as manure to aid in the growth of corn, one character even says, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson). Each year the townspeople carry out this tradition, however, no one living in the town could justify
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Nebecker re-affirms that through a failure to understand the purpose of the lottery the townspeople are acting out a violent crime. The ritual of the lottery goes beyond providing an outlet to release suppressed cruelties, but serves to create a new cruelty that is not rooted in a human’s essential emotive needs at all. Nebecker states in her critical essay titled “"The Lottery": Symbolic Tour de Force”, “Man is not at the mercy of a murky, savage id; he is the victim of unexamined and unchanging traditions which he could easily change if only he realized their implications” (Nebecker). Nebecker believes that humans are easily subjugated by the idea of tradition, which we rarely question. This is clearly demonstrated in “The Lottery”, the townspeople have become the victim of the lottery; they willingly sacrifice their friends annually for a reason they no longer …show more content…
Therefore, when someone no longer wishes to agree with tradition, they are faced with a great amount of conviction. One of Jackson’s characters, Old Man Warner, embodies blind traditionalism, and rejects non-conformity. This rejection and judgment is most clearly seen when Mr. Adams mentions that a neighboring town was considering putting an end to the lottery. Old Man Warner disapproves of these non-conformists because “nothing’s good enough for them”. He continues to say that he believes rejection of tradition will cause the town to “go back to living in caves” (Jackson). Any suggestion for change is seen as an attack on tradition, but also as an attack on the individual orchestrating the ritual. At one point in time the lottery represented a somber experience, and all those of participated understood the true purpose behind the tradition. However, as time passed, the townspeople began to take the lottery less seriously. The villagers cling to the lottery because it’s always been there, and they feel compelled to continue the
Nebecker re-affirms that through a failure to understand the purpose of the lottery the townspeople are acting out a violent crime. The ritual of the lottery goes beyond providing an outlet to release suppressed cruelties, but serves to create a new cruelty that is not rooted in a human’s essential emotive needs at all. Nebecker states in her critical essay titled “"The Lottery": Symbolic Tour de Force”, “Man is not at the mercy of a murky, savage id; he is the victim of unexamined and unchanging traditions which he could easily change if only he realized their implications” (Nebecker). Nebecker believes that humans are easily subjugated by the idea of tradition, which we rarely question. This is clearly demonstrated in “The Lottery”, the townspeople have become the victim of the lottery; they willingly sacrifice their friends annually for a reason they no longer …show more content…
Therefore, when someone no longer wishes to agree with tradition, they are faced with a great amount of conviction. One of Jackson’s characters, Old Man Warner, embodies blind traditionalism, and rejects non-conformity. This rejection and judgment is most clearly seen when Mr. Adams mentions that a neighboring town was considering putting an end to the lottery. Old Man Warner disapproves of these non-conformists because “nothing’s good enough for them”. He continues to say that he believes rejection of tradition will cause the town to “go back to living in caves” (Jackson). Any suggestion for change is seen as an attack on tradition, but also as an attack on the individual orchestrating the ritual. At one point in time the lottery represented a somber experience, and all those of participated understood the true purpose behind the tradition. However, as time passed, the townspeople began to take the lottery less seriously. The villagers cling to the lottery because it’s always been there, and they feel compelled to continue the