Uncertainty Of Life In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Imagine living in a world full of questions and uncertainty with little knowledge if it will be your last day to walk this earth. If your destiny was in the hands of someone else, would you allow it? More often than we know, we take the opportunity of life for granted. It is not on purpose, but we live in a society where we are able to do so. Unfortunate events do occur but it is not something we have prior knowledge of. In the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the people of the village are given the uncertainty of life year by year. It throws a curve ball in their lives because they can not live normally. Men, women, and children are forced to sacrifice their lives to keep the old traditions alive and running. Families are torn apart in such ways no one should have to experience. Just like the actual lottery today, when you play, you hope to win the money that is involved. You want the winning numbers or ticket that grants you your prize. In this story, it is switched around. The winning ticket is dreaded because the anticipated prize is death. …show more content…
Each culture, village, family has rules of their own that the people who are involved are expected to follow. Where they started, is unknown however they are looked upon greatly by the people who enforce them. The traditions are handed down from generation to generation which shape the way people act and behave. Even though a society may go through changes, some things are largely rooted in the past. The Lottery introduces the outdated rules of this yearly ritual. It is so old that the majority of the people have forgotten and discarded the original ritual. The use of a tattered black box is presented highly amongst the people since this is the box that holds their fate. “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery, seventy-seventh time” (Jackson