Jackson and Tradition
Change is the only thing that is guaranteed to be constant, but many people are afraid of it. The idea of something new is somewhat intimidating, especially if one does not try to understand it. In Shirley Jackson’s the lottery she shows how people are persecuted for factors that are simply out of their own control. It is this last behavior, the need to feel a part of the gruesomeness that exists in American society, that Jackson so skillfully depicts in “The Lottery"(Hicks). Through the elements of irony and convention, Jackson effectively brings out the idea of close mindedness, which is still prevalent in society today. Irony is when the characters know something different than the readers knows to be true. The story …show more content…
The town believes that its success solely relies on the tradition of the barbaric ceremony that is the lottery even though no one remembers how or when the lottery started. One of the oldest members of the village, Old Man Warner says “Pack of crazy fools, listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves” (Jackson, 232). Jackson makes it where the old man’s statement contradicts itself. Had people not changed their ways, they would still be living in caves. The idea of moving past what has always been is what forces innovation and improvement to everyday life. Edna Bogert commented on the idea of tradition and the lottery by saying “The adherence of people to unconsidered traditions and unchallenged controls is held up to examination in “The Lottery” in such a way as to suggest that traditions ought to be re-examined from time to time” (Bogert, 47). By making it so apparent that the people of the village don’t want to stray away from what they have always known, Jackson is able to show why it is important through the death of an innocent
Change is the only thing that is guaranteed to be constant, but many people are afraid of it. The idea of something new is somewhat intimidating, especially if one does not try to understand it. In Shirley Jackson’s the lottery she shows how people are persecuted for factors that are simply out of their own control. It is this last behavior, the need to feel a part of the gruesomeness that exists in American society, that Jackson so skillfully depicts in “The Lottery"(Hicks). Through the elements of irony and convention, Jackson effectively brings out the idea of close mindedness, which is still prevalent in society today. Irony is when the characters know something different than the readers knows to be true. The story …show more content…
The town believes that its success solely relies on the tradition of the barbaric ceremony that is the lottery even though no one remembers how or when the lottery started. One of the oldest members of the village, Old Man Warner says “Pack of crazy fools, listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves” (Jackson, 232). Jackson makes it where the old man’s statement contradicts itself. Had people not changed their ways, they would still be living in caves. The idea of moving past what has always been is what forces innovation and improvement to everyday life. Edna Bogert commented on the idea of tradition and the lottery by saying “The adherence of people to unconsidered traditions and unchallenged controls is held up to examination in “The Lottery” in such a way as to suggest that traditions ought to be re-examined from time to time” (Bogert, 47). By making it so apparent that the people of the village don’t want to stray away from what they have always known, Jackson is able to show why it is important through the death of an innocent