The Lottery

established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a

religious practice or a social custom) and the handing down of

information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from

one generation to another without written instruction. If we are to go

by the latter definition , we can understand how traditions are easily

lost. Have you ever played the game telephone? You whisper something in

someone's ear and they whisper it in another person^s ear until it

finally returns back to you and normally what is returned isn't even

close to what you originally whispered into the first person's ear In

Shirley Jackson's short story ,"The Lottery" ,the main theme is how

traditions that lose their meaning due to human forgetfulness can cause

dreadful consequences to occur. Jackson uses a lot of symbolism to show

this. The story is set in a small town, ^on the morning of June

27th^(272). It opens with false innocence , using the children building

a rock pile, tricking the reader into a disturbingly unaware state.

The reader almost expects the Lottery to be something wonderful since

the "normal" lottery has the winner g

. . .
In paragraph two, the children are so

desensitized that they are actually enjoying themselves while they are

collecting rocks as a sadistic prize for the lottery^s winner. (273) Within the box are slips

of paper, enough for the entire town. No-one in town really knows exactly why it is a

tradition although they have some vague ideas. Summers begins

calling names, the residents nervously present themselves,

unaware of their destiny, to pull slips of paper out of

the little black lottery box.

Christmas was originally intended to celebrate the miracle of Christ^s

birth, but over time Christmas has become more commercialized and

associated with pagan beliefs. etting a prize of a large amount

of money or possesion. Due to her actions the reader now knows that she

is going to be the one, but what is unknown is the prize.

Each following paragraph contains subtle clues as

to what is going to unfold. "They stood together, away from the

pile of stones in the corner" (Text, 783). No-one exactly remembers the hows

and whys of the tradition, most have become completely desensitized to

the murderous rituals.

The stones that were mentioned in the first

paragraph of the story now re-enter the plot and cause

damage. The fact that

the stood away from the stones, again, informs the reader

that the stones play some sinister role. This action adds suspense to the story.

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Approximate Word count = 2068
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

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