Theme of Tradition in The Lottery Literature Essay Sample

The Lottery is a misleading but complex short story written by Shirley Jackson, it entails a localized village with a dark tradition that they follow. Shirley Jackson effectively makes use of foreshadowing and different types of characters. The theme that is present in this story is that one should always question or critically think about traditions and cultural norms. Consequently, one may be harmed or impacted negatively by this tradition. In this short story, tradition is highlighted to be very important to this village. Despite this, the villagers don’t ever question the morality of this tradition whatsoever. Their ignorance causes them to eventually be stoned.

The lottery is a central piece of this village’s cultures and traditions. I would like to also add that it’s a key part of the story’s setting, and one could even say. In the text, it states that the villagers didn’t want to replace the black box and change tradition despite the state the black box was in. They didn’t want to alter traditions even though the original paraphernalia had been lost long ago, proving that it’s very important to them. This implies that this ritual spans far into the past. The lottery appears to be a very normal event, since the villagers were very nonchalant whilst attending the lottery. Furthermore, the lottery was described along with other traditions such as Halloween and the teen club, and more. From these examples, one can collectively say that it’s a frequent yet important tradition to the people of this village.

The lottery is a meaningful tradition for the village, however that doesn’t cause them to question it or consider the consequences of it. This story is very misleading if it’s your first time reading. The story starts off as if it’s a simple, harmless tradition. This is because the villagers showed no sign of panic, worry, or distress. They were all very nonchalant about it, and didn’t have any objections up until the Hutchinsons got picked. Most if not all of the villagers don’t appear to mind this ritual, and none of the townsfolk spoke up before it was too late. Mr Adams was the only villager who showed slight signs of disagreement with the lottery before someone got picked. He got struck down by Old Man Warner though. If there are more individuals who question this tradition and speak up about it together, it would be quite likely that this practice would be abolished, which is proven possible by the other villages which have stopped holding this event. Old Man Warner said, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” Somehow, the Lottery will result in higher crop yields according to Old Man Warner’s quote. From this quote, one can infer that this tradition involves some sort of supernatural force, as it resembles many ancient traditions which have similar practices. Even though this practice provides little to no benefits for this village, all the villagers still follow it blindlessly. If any of the villagers pondered about the negative consequences of this tradition, and spoke up about why it might be outdated or provide no benefits, it’s likely that the Lottery would’ve been put to an end.

As a result of their ignorance and lack of critical thinking, innocent people get killed. Seeing that this ritual has been around for so long, even the children are used to stoning people to death in view of the fact that they grew up with this ritual ever since birth. The victim sometimes being one of their own family members. Tessie Hutchinson is a prime example of this. As a consequence of the villagers’ lack of critical thinking, one more person was killed that year, by her own family members as well.

The Lottery is a critical tradition for the residents of this village. That however doesn’t cause them to consider the consequences of this tradition, which leads to many people meeting their demise.  This story proves that one should always critically think about traditions even if they pose no negative consequences towards them. So next time you celebrate one of your own traditions, make sure to apply this theme and think critically about that tradition!