“The original paraphernalia for the lottery has been long lost ago, and the black box now resting
on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was
born. 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.” (Jackson 292)
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson tells the story of how a terrible tradition unfolds in a dystopian
on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was
born. 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.” (Jackson 292)
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson tells the story of how a terrible tradition unfolds in a dystopian
society. The Lottery, occurring annually, results in the murder of one “lucky” winner who is pelted
with stones by the rest of the town. With these sentences, Jackson uses a basic concept to
draw attention to a universal flaw of human beings. She describes how humans fear
nonconformity, and how detrimental the power of tradition can be to civilization.
Tessie Hutchinson is murdered by the rest of the town because she is “marked” by the Lottery.
These sentences describe how the town blindly follows the tradition that has been established
for generations. The citizens of the town do not know why the Lottery occurs or when it started,
but they go along with it anyway. Because the tradition exists, it holds power over everyone in
the story. I would assume that people in the town do not go around killing each other. So why
are they content with the Lottery, something that annually results in murder? The power of
tradition is so prevalent in this society that the townspeople do not see anything wrong with the
Lottery. With these sentences, Jackson shows how the town follows tradition simply because it
exists, and setting a precedent for the town’s inability to change.
The townspeople fear nonconformity to the point where they will never question tradition. The villagers commit this violent act with the encouragement and reinforcement of others. The desire to conform to the status quo is part of what keeps the villagers participating in the lottery. No one wants to refuse to participate, as that will result in standing alone and potentially being rejected by society. With these sentences, Jackson is implying that fear of nonconformity often forces people to do things they would otherwise consider immoral, and when immoral acts are institutionalized as societal norms, they can lead to a dystopian society like that in “The Lottery.”
with stones by the rest of the town. With these sentences, Jackson uses a basic concept to
draw attention to a universal flaw of human beings. She describes how humans fear
nonconformity, and how detrimental the power of tradition can be to civilization.
Tessie Hutchinson is murdered by the rest of the town because she is “marked” by the Lottery.
These sentences describe how the town blindly follows the tradition that has been established
for generations. The citizens of the town do not know why the Lottery occurs or when it started,
but they go along with it anyway. Because the tradition exists, it holds power over everyone in
the story. I would assume that people in the town do not go around killing each other. So why
are they content with the Lottery, something that annually results in murder? The power of
tradition is so prevalent in this society that the townspeople do not see anything wrong with the
Lottery. With these sentences, Jackson shows how the town follows tradition simply because it
exists, and setting a precedent for the town’s inability to change.
One of the powers of this terrible tradition illustrated by these sentences is “the black box”, the container from which the villagers draw the slips of paper for the lottery. The black box is culturally and historically important to the town, as it is a symbol to the villagers of their tradition and the generations before them that have upheld the practice of the lottery. The black box lends confidence to the villagers because it reminds them to trust in established tradition, never considering that it might be immoral.
The townspeople fear nonconformity to the point where they will never question tradition. The villagers commit this violent act with the encouragement and reinforcement of others. The desire to conform to the status quo is part of what keeps the villagers participating in the lottery. No one wants to refuse to participate, as that will result in standing alone and potentially being rejected by society. With these sentences, Jackson is implying that fear of nonconformity often forces people to do things they would otherwise consider immoral, and when immoral acts are institutionalized as societal norms, they can lead to a dystopian society like that in “The Lottery.”
I agree, the sentence really shows how the characters had been dehumanized and how a seemingly simple story had a darker message.
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