The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - Book Report/Review Example

Clearly, it is blind approval of the lottery that has made the lottery part and parcel of the villagers’ lives and perpetuates annual murders in the form of ritual performances in the small town. People are often intrinsically resistant to change and have become so submissive to their traditions that they fear a relapse into primordial times upon the stoppage of the lottery.The lottery has transformed the villagers into inhumane creatures that they find it normal to kill so as to satisfy the demands of tradition.

Sadly, none of the villagers can give a substantial reason for holding the lottery and having to kill someone whenever they are called upon. This clearly exposes the unconscious self that is driven by the power of tradition rather than the reasoning mind.Suppose the killers would take even a minute to challenge their action perhaps no more deaths in the lottery would be experienced, but no one seems to dare to question the tradition. To them, it seems like their reason for living. Jacksons impugns the villagers’ reverence for this odd tradition by arguing that the villagers are even oblivious of the origin of the ritual that they hold so high.

Therefore, Jackson’s critical examination of traditions and how they affect people’s lives expose various atrocities that spun out of oppressive traditions, which need rethinking.