Essay Tradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery

In our society we have many traditions. These traditions all have certain meanings behind them; however, many of those meanings tend to be lost or forgotten. The holiday of Thanksgiving was originally a celebration to commemorate the arrival of the pilgrims in the new world and their first interactions with the Native Americans. So then why is it still celebrated today? There is no actual purpose in today’s society to observe this custom. It has just continued to be observed because of past traditions. There is no logical reason to continue this fà ªte, as it holds little or no value. With the passage of time the actual reasons have been lost or distorted, such as in the case of Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery.† Shirley Jackson’s†¦show more content†¦There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching (Jackson 75) . The town members can no longer remember exactly how the lottery is supposed to be performed, and thus either substitute different actions as part of the ritual, or do away with them altogether. In the story there is only one explanation as to why the lottery is used. This explanation is given by Old Man Warner, who himself has survived seventy six lotteries. Old Man Warner states, â€Å"Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon† (77). According to this, the lottery was used as a ritual to promote a plentiful harvest season. In all societies the success of agriculture is vital to survival. Farmers â€Å"can only wait and hope† that the harvest season will be successful. From this hope, meaningless rituals are created, even when the ritual has no direct relationship (Griffin 44). The townspeople would sacrifice one of their citizens in hopes that it would in some way or another affect the results of the harvest. Every June 27th the townspeople participated in an outdated tradition that thrust their town into the depths of barbarism. There are several references, hints, and blatant comments that refer to the barbaric theme in this story. One example is thatShow MoreRelatedTradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay2237 Words   |  9 PagesTradition or Cruelty in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Shirley Jacksons The Lottery satirizes barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village. 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