The Lottery: Shirley Jackson's Tale - Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a short story that was first published in the 1948 edition of The New Yorker that highlights communal violence, feminine weakness, and ancient traditions. "The Lottery" was written shortly after world war II, happening in the mid-20th century, the short story begins as a tale of a small town's yearly lottery. The story is written from a third-person's point of view, while dialogue is used throughout full of symbols to further demonstrate the theme of tradition. Traditions are part of a society, and it is conventional since it is passed through generations. Traditions give a community a unique identity since they attach a symbolic meaning and ensure that the coming generations learn and connect to the past (Coulthard, 1990). The story revolves around the tradition of a small isolated society; however, it is unclear where the traditions originated and have been discarded. These reflect in the manner in which they live, which is very traditional, and no one questions the traditions. The concept of traditions before logic is evident in the story and demonstrates how a small issue handled in an illogical manner can adversely impact.

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In "The Lottery, "Shirley shows that blindly following traditions often result in violence and hypocrisy in the community. It was a tradition for the community to play lottery on 27th of June every year and it is a tradition they observe, through it, they select a name and start throwing stones to that particular person with an intent to hurt them. Neither the victim nor their family have the right to oppose the community. The randomness of persecution of individuals in the community while the victims are not guilty of any wrongdoing (Oehlschlaeger, 1988). The traditions related to the lottery were designed so that all community members would have an equal opportunity of becoming a victim; moreover, the children are also exposed to the risk. Every family is not safe since each member of the community will be chosen each year and killed. What makes the tradition more horrible is the pace at which the community turns against their own without question. Tessie chooses a wrong slip of paper from a box and loses her identity; members of her family participate actively as any other member.

Tessie's death is an example that shows how society is led to killing an innocent person for absurd reasons and without questioning why. Shirley highlights that any other persecution in such a way in the community is random, and that is why her death is universal. Women in "The Lottery" were treated unequally during the old days. For instance, the crows articulated their concerns regarding their children when it was presented to family members. However, none of them expressed their sympathy for Tessie. Similarly, even Tessie's best friends threw stones at her. At the same time, her husband humiliates her and shows no concern. Regular people constitute society; however, the "male-controlled laws" in the case of the short story that force people to consent to certain rules without questioning (Ismael & Ali, 2018).

The members of the community blindly accept the lottery to become an essential part of their fabric, facilitating the adoption of murder as a ritual that occurs each year. Shirley demonstrates in her short story how the villagers have increasingly become powerless to try to alter anything concerning the lottery. Though nobody is forcing them to stick to the old traditions, some of the community members are dedicated and faithful to the traditions. For instance, old man warner is very faithful to the traditions to the extent that he fears the community would revert to primitive eras if they stop observing the lottery. When the villagers easily kill their own because they are told to do so without reason, if they questioned themselves why such acts were happening in society, they would probably stop. However, nobody is willing to stop the acts and question the tradition since it is a tradition that provides them all the jurisdiction they require. "Mr. Summers frequently spoke to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box." (Jackson, 137)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the lottery culminates in a bizarre murder every year, which shows how dangerous the tradition can get when following it blindly without questioning its importance and origin. "The lottery" supplies the reader with lots of negative effects such as violence and hypocrisy. "The Lottery" conclusion shows that the traditions have gradually become meaningless over time. The lottery appears to be eternal since it is hard to detect its origin or its eventuality. However, it is obvious that the insufficient or lack thereof merits it more powerful; it can be described as a force of nature where the community cannot imagine opposing.

Works Cited

Coulthard, A. R. (1990). Jackson's the Lottery. The Explicator, 48(3), 226-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.1990.9934004

Ismael, Z. I. & Ali, S. A. K. (2018). Human Rights at Stake: Shirley Jackson's Social and Political Protest in "The Lottery." International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7(6), 28-36. DOI: 10.7575/aiac.ijalel. v.7n.6p.28

Oehlschlaeger, F. (1988). The Stoning of Mistress-Hutchinson-Meaning and Context in The 'lottery.' Essays in Literature, 15(2), 259-265.

Watson, N. (1994). Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Choice Reviews Online. American Library Association, vol 31, no. 11, pp. 5798-5798. doi:10.5860/choice.31-5798.