The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, is a story that shows how old traditions can be pointless and harmful. The story takes a close examination of what can happen when old out-dated traditions that no longer make sense. These traditions in the story are no longer needed for their society to function; they just end up causing unnecessary problems. In the story, the annual lottery is the old tradition and the result of this old tradition is the meaningless death of an innocent woman. The Lottery gives a good example of how following old traditions can bring harsh consequences.

At the beginning, and throughout the story, the author sets a positive tone. The reader is meant to feel this by the imagery given in the description of the setting. It describes children running around and happily playing. People are gathering on a sunny summer day for what seems to be a joyous annual event. Instantly the reader is comfortably drawn in to a happy story. Then later on at the end, the reader is set up for an unsuspected and shocking ending that involves the stoning of an innocent woman by the people of the town.

The town is described as being small, simple, and traditional. It is apparent that trad

The only mentions of quitting the lottery come from hesitant and vague statements. Mrs.Delacroix mentions to Mr.Graves “seems like there’s no time at all between lotteries anymore.” This means that the lottery is much too frequent, and should not be done at all. Also Mr.Adams makes a vague statement to old man Warner about quitting the lottery. He tells him “that over in the North Village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.” This statement immediately outraged old man Warner. This was an attempt by Mr.Adams to try and get some support to end the lottery. After he saw old man Warner’s reaction he immediately stopped, and probably will not ever try that again. Through a subtle hint some people try and express their true feelings, but as soon as they detect a sign of hostility, they shy away and just except the consequences.

The Author uses the character of old man Warner, to show the ignorance of doing something just for the simple fact that it is a tradition. If anyone does anything different only bad things will come from it. Warner is a strong believer in the phrase “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” He believes that if the lottery is changed or does not take place, the people in the town will end up living in caves, eating chickenweed and acorns. A rational person could easily come to the conclusion that the lottery, and the harvest have nothing to do with one another. This shows that people who believe in these old traditions do not think rationally.

ition is coveted in this small and simple town. The Citizens of the town are set in their ways. The town is mostly made up of farmers, which is generally considered the type of occupation that is old-fashioned. The Author uses farmers to show how customary this small town is. It is also an occupation that is passed down from one generation to the next. This is muc

Some topics in this essay:
Shirley Jackson, North Village, annual lottery, ritual lottery, people town, breaking tradition, , annual event, people town town, citizens town, town town, box lottery, quitting lottery, innocent woman,