Traditions in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson (Free Essay Sample)

Attending a religious, conservative university, I have engaged in many discussions regarding religion and politics, from which I notice how these two things play a different part in everyone’s lives. However, with these discussions comes controversial topics, illuminating the difference in morals people have for themselves and others. For example, with the topic of bodily autonomy, conservative groups tend to claim that another woman’s right to an abortion should be illegal while demanding that wearing a mask for others’ protection violates their personal freedoms. Often in such sensitive subject matter, I have noticed that people try to prove their patriotism by blindly swearing their allegiance to their religion or political affiliation. Such loyalty can be dangerous as it encourages groupthink and hampers any feasibility of growth over time. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery,” she originally provides very little information about any specifics of the lottery. We know that the lottery is a tradition a decreasing number of towns adhere to. We know that it occurs on June 27th and only lasts two hours because the town’s population is on the smaller side. We know that it’s an event that families attend together. We don’t know its purpose or what is won until we finish the story and Jackson reveals in the last few lines that the ‘winner’ is gifted a painful death. Jackson purposely leaves out this information to create a surprise factor, while forcing the reader to question why an event like this still occurs - is tradition a sufficient reason to retain outdated rituals?

Through her nonchalant tone, Jackson presents the Lottery as a casual, part-of-life experience for the townspeople. In fact, it appears to be a rather convenient event as it will “be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner” (1). Her casual tone implies that the lottery was neither an exciting nor agonizing event, but rather simply a neutral one. She further sets the scene by describing how some of the villagers are preparing: children are collecting rocks, Mr. Summers is preparing the papers, and Mrs. Hutchinson forgot altogether. Mrs. Hutchinson recounts that she “clean forgot what day it was” (2). The continuation of not only Jackson’s careless tone but the character’s unbothered attitude toward the whole situation shows that this tradition doesn’t have any emotional impact on them. While the reader isn’t aware at the time of what is about to happen, the townspeople do, and the juxtaposition of a collective act of murder and their leisurely approach to it implies a complete deficiency of empathy for others and possibly their own life. Possibly a result of the long, ongoing tradition, the characters are desensitized to feelings and thinking for themselves. Jackson continues describing the logistics of the scene and explains, “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago . . . [and] Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (1). Does the loss of the original box signify a loss of the meaning of the lottery through time? Mr. Summer’s absence of any emotional attachment to the box provides the insight that this custom has no meaning to him other than it is part of his working duties. However, the villagers’ adherence to the disintegrating container implies that some of them cling to the ritual much more closely. Furthermore, there seems to be a discrepancy between maintaining the steps of the lottery as they were created and simply showing up to the event, which parallels how important this tradition is to some and how, for others, just the fact that it happens every year is sufficient reason to continue it, regardless of the grim outcome. As the lottery commences, one of the townspeople, Mr. Adams mentions, “that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery,” to which Old Man Warner claps back, “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them . . . There’s always been a lottery” (4). Quite blatantly, an answer to the overarching question of if tradition is enough to continue the lottery is given. Jackson’s composition of placing the descriptive title “Old Man” in the same sentence as “young” provides some perspective on the types of people susceptible to blind allegiance and an overarching failure to evolve. It appears that the lottery continues out of habit, instead of from any conscious thinking.

For the most part, Jackson implies that tradition is an adequate reason to have the villagers circle June 27th on their calendar, yet the conclusion of the lottery suggests otherwise. Jackson finally reveals the Hutchinson family as the winner of the lottery and Mrs. Hutchinson rebels, claiming, “it wasn’t fair” (5). Her sudden, strong feelings against the lottery contradict her original insouciant manner and obscure any understanding the reader has of Mrs. Hutchinson’s thoughts about the lottery. Immediately after, she pleads to have her married daughters draw with the family in what could only be an attempt to buffer her chances of drawing the marked paper. As soon as misfortune becomes a possibility, the remainder of her loose morals vanish as the desperation she has to put herself over her own family appears. As the family takes turns picking from the box, Nancy’s friends “breathed heavily as [Nancy] went forward” and whispered, “I hope it’s not Nancy” (6). Obvious signs of worry in Nancy’s friends are one of the first displays of empathy the townspeople have shown for someone else. Jackson’s deliberate act of revealing any altruistic feelings only when the evils of the lottery become a reality hints at the faults in this long-lasting tradition. After the family finished drawing their papers, Nancy and Bill Jr. revealed their safety, and “both beamed and laughed” (6). Knowing that someone in their family is about to endure a painful death, the promise of not being the victim seems to overthrow any compassion the children have for the fates of their mother or father. Similar to Mrs. Hutchinson’s readiness to pawn off the death sentence to her oldest daughters, the lottery illuminates both the Hutchinson family’s survival instincts and our patriarchal society’s belittlement of mothers after they have finished successfully raising their family. Fighting off her fate, Mrs. Hutchinson lets out one last scream, demanding, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (7). Usually, pointing out the wrongdoing in an act opposes the entirety of the act. However, Mrs. Hutchinson is just protesting her death. The lottery has desensitized the public completely and branched away from its original purpose. No longer is this a question of tradition, but rather a question of why do people fear change?

Throughout the journey of reading “The Lottery,” Jackson challenges the reader to question the purpose of the lottery. Mrs. Hutchinson’s switch in perspective, of being a bystander versus a victim, is an insight that none of the others have and can be described in one word: hypocrisy. While some townspeople mentioned banning the lottery, the rest of them lacked remorse to even question the motives of the lottery. Such insincerity ought to be visible to the reader, but to the villagers who have been lulled into complacency, I expect such a conclusion to not come as readily. Originally published in 1948, nearly three-quarters of a century ago, Jackson effectively displayed the fault in thinking only for oneself. Believing that atrocities are acceptable as long as you are not on the receiving end is a half-baked and cruel way to judge the righteousness of something. The morality of an event or action should not be exclusively dependent on how it impacts you, but rather how it impacts people. 

Ultimately, Jackson’s piece begs for change. A constant reevaluation of political social structures and outdated religious customs would aid our world in preventing any similar situations. While this is no easy task, I believe that taking a step back, fully understanding what is going on, and refusing to participate in anachronistic events can help. Time is powerful, and change comes with it. Refusing to change is refusing to accept our ongoing existence in the world.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1948/06/26/the-lottery Originally published The New Yorker 1948. Accessed online 15 April 2022.