American Values In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Deconstructing literature allows the reader to examine the narrative’s intent while uncovering a moment of reflection. Literature manifests a deluge of information about the reader and only through a deconstruction of the text will one seize the narratives criticism of American values. “The Lottery” is an analysis of society 's views of religion and its correlation to governmental institutions. A deconstruction of the text reveals that people cast aside traditions for convenience sake. The narrative likens governmental institutions such as the lottery to religious motifs and how people overlook distorted facts in the wake of tradition.
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is a story about the choices that people within society. Although Jackson …show more content…
The narrator is somewhat self-aware of Tessie’s paradoxical relationship with her community and the lottery, as she has little power within the community. Tessie as an individual not in complete rejection of the system, but rather a passive objector to the institution that is the lottery. The Narrator depicts the children in the community as being eager to begin the lottery as “the children assembled first” (text). Thus, showing that the children are at ease with the proliferation of the institution and are indoctrinated by the town 's elders. The children’s embracement of the lottery is juxtaposed with Tessie 's late arrival to the lottery, as she was washing dishes and “‘Clean forgot what day it was’” (page). Through this scene, one can derive that Tessie is a paradox to the children. Furthermore, once Tessie arrives at the community square, one could see her as a paradox since she is both the last one to arrive and begins chattering amidst the crowd. These facts reveal Tessie as being both an active participator in the lottery and a passive objector to the institution through her …show more content…
For example, the narrator acknowledges that the black box is not the original version, but a recreation from pieces of the original. In fact, the narrator says “there was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it” (book). So, one could see that the town holds the symbolism of the black box in such high regard that they felt as though they ought to create a new box with the relics of the original. Through careful examination, one could critique the validity of the second boxes construction. One could argue that the reaction of the box is a false artifact, used to confirm the origin of the town 's ritual. That using a piece of the original box confirms the validity of continuing the event of