Ritual In The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” exposes a village’s devotion to a murderous ritual. The story illustrates how thoughtlessly individuals devote themselves to a tradition simply because it has been given to them from past generations. It also shows how societies can condone the practice of arbitrarily persecuting individuals. Somehow, each villager in the story supports the annual murder as long as they are not the condemned person. This is poignantly symbolic of the attitude of many people when they are faced with questions of oppression. The foremost symbol in the story is the lottery itself, a practice of blind devotion to tradition. The villagers see this bizarre ritual as a staid part of their lives, never questioning the reason for it. Similarly, they never stop to consider whether it is ethical to continue this ritual. The entire village participation in the ritual shows how the persecution is an action of …show more content…
They vaguely remember certain ceremonies, speeches, and songs that were once a part of the lottery. However, their blind devotion to this ritual does not encompass every aspect of it. The villagers are unconcerned with the change from wood chips to paper slips, which seems to be parallel to their change from a deep interest in every part of the ceremony to a lightened approach. The black box demonstrates the ambivalent attitude of the villagers toward keeping the tradition as well. Their devotion to the lottery is exemplified in the box, whose continued use is due to rumors that it contains pieces of the original lottery box. However, just like other aspects of the ritual, the box is allowed to fall apart. The box is shabby, splintering, and losing its paint. It seems that the external appearances and pomp of the lottery is allowed to deteriorate, but the frightening custom itself is staunchly