The Control of Tradition Embedded in Culture It is an obvious fact that modern America is the superior culture. But in this short story by Shirley Jackson, written in 1948, will provoke a common patriot of this nation to think twice. At first glance the short story “The Lottery” can be read as a brute tale of a barbaric tradition, one that sacrifices a member of the community once a year by stoning them to a slow death. The sacrifice is chosen through two rounds of picking a slip of paper out of a black box and the one who has the black dot they will stone. It easy to judge this village as savage. Yet the story begins with a gleeful description of a beautiful day with a context that depicts the heart-land of America type of farming town,
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First the lottery devalues a person, then it controls their identity. The color black is “the symbol of the slave, ill-treated and tortured” (“Black”), hence the status of the individuals in this village is now degraded to the status of a slave. This can be seen through the black dot on the single piece of paper. Now that it is clear the writing on the paper determines their self-worth, in this instance the persons worth is that of torture and death. In the story the black dot serves as a reflection for Tessie. Until she comes face to face with the mirror of reality she cheerfully participates in the lottery, but when she must stare into the black dot, it mirrors a new role she must take as a suffering victim and she exclaims “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 10). The color black on the box is also like a mirror to the rest of the village but reflects a different role. Black is also a symbol “Associated with a primitive stage of human development when barbarity was triumphant”(“Black”). The tradition redefines the villagers to become acceptably barbaric punishers of the innocent sacrifice, reverting back to a primitive stage. The theme shows that under traditions power, it is allowed to rule over the individual as their master. Reflecting either a barbaric nature or a tortured victim they become a slave to whatever it
First the lottery devalues a person, then it controls their identity. The color black is “the symbol of the slave, ill-treated and tortured” (“Black”), hence the status of the individuals in this village is now degraded to the status of a slave. This can be seen through the black dot on the single piece of paper. Now that it is clear the writing on the paper determines their self-worth, in this instance the persons worth is that of torture and death. In the story the black dot serves as a reflection for Tessie. Until she comes face to face with the mirror of reality she cheerfully participates in the lottery, but when she must stare into the black dot, it mirrors a new role she must take as a suffering victim and she exclaims “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 10). The color black on the box is also like a mirror to the rest of the village but reflects a different role. Black is also a symbol “Associated with a primitive stage of human development when barbarity was triumphant”(“Black”). The tradition redefines the villagers to become acceptably barbaric punishers of the innocent sacrifice, reverting back to a primitive stage. The theme shows that under traditions power, it is allowed to rule over the individual as their master. Reflecting either a barbaric nature or a tortured victim they become a slave to whatever it