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 be to goby the latter definition , we can understand how traditions are easilylost. Have you ever played the game telephone? You whisper something insomeones spike 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 verbalize into the first persons ear InShirley Jacksons short tarradiddle ,The Lottery ,the main theme is howtraditions that lose their meaning due to human forgetfulness can attemptdreadful consequences to occur. Jackson uses a lot of symbolism to showthis. The spirit level is set in a small town, on the morning of Junetwenty-seve nth(272). It opens with false innocence , using the children buildinga rock pile, tricking the reviewer into a disturbingly unaware state.The reader almost expects the Lottery to be something wonderful sincethe normal lottery has the achiever getting a swag 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 platform(273) in the same spot that the lottery is held.In the Lottery we endanger that the town-folk use a lottery, to picka victor to stone to death. The winner is picked using a black boxthat has been around for ages, and has even been rebuilt with splitsupposedly from the original black box.(273) Within the box are slipsof paper, enough for the entire 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 elision to this rule. One ofMerriam-Websters dictionary defi nitions of black is marked by theoccurance of possibility . 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 in truth knows exactly why it is atradition although they have some wispy ideas. Old Man Warner alludesthat it was once said lottery in June, give be heavy soon.(276)Ironically, even the oldest member of this village doesnt evenremember the real reason behind the lottery.