The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - Essay Example

Tradition is a leading theme in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” Jackson writes characters as individuals who adhere to tradition irrespective of its repercussions on their lives. “The Lottery” is a narrative about a yearly tradition by residents of a small, unknown town, which seems to be as crucial to them as Christmas is today. This nearly innate commitment to tradition arises from the village lottery that cultivates a vicious killing yearly. Small towns consider traditions a means of maintaining the connections between and amongst households and former generations. In this case, Jackson questions this tradition implicitly by stating that the villagers are not very conscious about the actual lottery but still continue to conserve its tradition (Jackson 7). The writer reveals how rationalizing such a primal tradition makes it difficult to view any rituals involved as anything but hypocritical. As a result, only readers can see the madness of this tradition by the villagers. Read More