The Importance Of Traditions In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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The man calls out the numbers. All the numbers are exactly the same as the numbers on the ticket. Some family member scream, while others cry tears of joy. This is usually the experience an individual will have if he/she wins the lottery. However, winning the lottery in “The Lottery” is quite a different situation. In “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, a seemingly ordinary village conducts a traditional lottery where the “winner” is stoned to death. While the events that take place in this story are fictional, Jackson uses the events to showcase the dangers of the preservation of certain traditions. Jackson seemingly uses ordinary details about the setting and the townspeople to characterize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, and may appear …show more content…
Everyone in the village is gathering in the town square on a "clear and sunny" (1) summer day with flowers "blossoming profusely" (1). Jackson creates the image of a delightful, common summer morning using her description of the setting. The village is not very voluminous as well . The town only contains "about three hundred people" (1). A compact village, rather than a enormous village, helps substantiate the idea that this town is an average, run of the mill town. The town also manifests itself to be a typical, everyday town. The village 's town square is found between a "the post office and the bank" (1). While Jackson originally uses the setting to showcase how common the town is at the beginning of the story, the setting eventually reveals horrifying details about the town. Before the lottery begins, the children of the town are exhibiting strange behavior. Three children of the village make a "pile of stones" (1) in a corner of the town square. The creation of the pile of the stones is one of the first indicators that there is something peculiar about the village. The names of the conductors of the lottery also suggests that something is not ethical about the practice of the lottery. The

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