The Lottery... Rituals and Traditions

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

Another aspect of social standing is seen through the segregation between men and women. Throughout the story men are shown to be superior to the women of the town. They make their first appearance "wearing faded house dresses . . . and walking shortly after their menfolk" (p. 310). Their clothes being described as faded infers that they do work but that because they do not bring in income they are seen as inferior to the men. Another example is when Tessie Hutchinson arrives late to the lottery, other men turn to her husband and state, "here comes your Missus, Hutchinson" (p. 312). None of the men address Tessie because she “belongs” to her husband. The women however seem to take their position in society in stride. They refer to their husbands as their “old men” and always go to their side thus reinforcing the segregation of the sexes.

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