The Lottery :: essays papers

The LotteryMerriam-Websters online dictionary defines tradition as, an inherited,established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as areligious practice or a tender custom) and the handing down ofinformation, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example fromone generation to another without written instruction. If we are to goby the latter definition , we can understand how traditions are easilylost. Have you ever played the game telephone? You rustle something insomeones ear and they whisper it in another persons ear until itfinally returns back to you and normally what is returned isnt evenclose to what you originally whispered into the first persons ear InShirley Jacksons short story ,The Lottery ,the main theme is howtraditions that lose their meaning due to human forgetfulness can causedreadful consequences to occur. Jackson uses a muddle of symbolism to showthis. The story is set in a small town, on the morning of June27th(272). It opens with false innocence , apply the children buildinga rock pile, tricking the reader into a disturbingly unaware state.The reader almost expects the Lottery to be something wonderful sincethe normal lottery has the winner getting a prize of a large amountof money or possesion. Even the story alludes to the innocence ,explaining how the the town also holds square dances, teenage club andthe Halloween design(273) in the same spot that the lottery is held.In the Lottery we discover that the town-folk use a lottery, to picka winner to stone to death. The winner is picked using a black disasterthat has been around for ages, and has even been rebuilt with partssupposedly from the original black box.(273) Within the box are transmutationsof paper, enough for the inbuilt town. On one slip of paper is a blackdot for the one lucky winner. Black has always been a symbol for death,and the color of the box and dot are no exception to this rule. One ofMerriam-Websters dictionary definitions of black is marked by theoccurance of disaster . The black dot on the slip of paperidentifies the lucky winner of the lottery-the person who will getstoned to death. No-one in town really knows exactly why it is atradition although they hold back some vague ideas. Old Man Warner alludesthat it was once said lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.(276)Ironically, even the oldest member of this colonisation doesnt evenremember the real reason behind the lottery.