The unifying theme of “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, is fading tradition. The villagers are still partaking in a murderous tradition that does not have any meaning to them anymore. Each new generation is slowly getting away from the original tradition. As each year comes and goes a little bit of the tradition fades away. There are a lot of examples of fading tradition in the story, but the ones that are going to used in this essay are Old Man Warner, changes in the ritual, Tessie Hutchison, and the black box.
A important unifying theme in “The Lottery” is the character Old Man Warner. He is not happy that the tradition is slowly fading away. He even said that “it’s not the way it used to be” indicating that the tradition has already changed …show more content…
Tessie respsents the changes in the women’s role for the lottery. She is very outspoken when her husband gets the black dot and yells at Mr. Summers “you didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (Jackson 108). Mrs. Hutchinson is being rebellious to the lottery because she does not want to lose her life. She continues to say “ It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” right before they stone her to death.
The most important symbol of tradition in “The Lottery” is the black box. As the tradition continues the black box becomes “in some places faded or stained” (Jackson 105). This represents all the innocent bloodshed from over the years of stoning people to death. Each year as a person is picked to die the box gets older and fades more. As the tradition gets older, the villagers are getting more reluctant to add more stains to the black box. The black box, in the villager’s minds, represents all of the bloodshed from the past and the future to come.
In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson the unifying theme is fading tradition. As each generation comes and goes, a little bit of the tradition is lost. Old Man Warner and Tessie Hutchinson are great examples that show how the tradition is changing the villagers. While Changes in the ritual and the black box are more transformation in the tradition itself. Theses all repensent how over time tradition fades
A important unifying theme in “The Lottery” is the character Old Man Warner. He is not happy that the tradition is slowly fading away. He even said that “it’s not the way it used to be” indicating that the tradition has already changed …show more content…
Tessie respsents the changes in the women’s role for the lottery. She is very outspoken when her husband gets the black dot and yells at Mr. Summers “you didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (Jackson 108). Mrs. Hutchinson is being rebellious to the lottery because she does not want to lose her life. She continues to say “ It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” right before they stone her to death.
The most important symbol of tradition in “The Lottery” is the black box. As the tradition continues the black box becomes “in some places faded or stained” (Jackson 105). This represents all the innocent bloodshed from over the years of stoning people to death. Each year as a person is picked to die the box gets older and fades more. As the tradition gets older, the villagers are getting more reluctant to add more stains to the black box. The black box, in the villager’s minds, represents all of the bloodshed from the past and the future to come.
In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson the unifying theme is fading tradition. As each generation comes and goes, a little bit of the tradition is lost. Old Man Warner and Tessie Hutchinson are great examples that show how the tradition is changing the villagers. While Changes in the ritual and the black box are more transformation in the tradition itself. Theses all repensent how over time tradition fades