The short story, The Lottery, written by Shirley Jackson contains two key aspects that society is based upon: Tradition and rituals, and social class division. These aspects mold the townspeoples’ views and beliefs towards continuing the lottery and upholding the tradition.
Traditions and rituals are used for a variety of reasons. The townspeople believed that if they did not keep the tradition of the lottery alive, their crops would not prosper and it would distort the order of their town. Although they followed the tradition closely you can tell that the town is beginning to question the sanctity of the ritual. Some believe that the lottery should continue on while others disagree with the ritual but are afraid to oppose the tradition in fear that they will become the next “winner.” It does seem however that the tradition is slowly losing value to the townspeople. The
Much like society today, the town was split up into different sects of social standing. The three men that were highest in power performed the lottery annualy; Mr. Martin owned the grocery store, Mr. Graves ran the post office, and Mr. Summers ran a successful coal company. On top of that they were also the wealthiest families in the town. These men were in charge of not only performing the lottery but keeping track of the black box, making the slips and event always takes place by the post office. The families that were productive and contributed their time to civic activities were thought to be less likely to draw the “winning” slip. On the other hand the families that were perceived to be unproductive and unpopular were the ones that the towns people believe would be the ones to draw the “winning” slip. After everyone had drawn their slips people began to ask, “ Wh
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