Ignornance of Tradition in The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

Tradition, defined as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction. (Tradition) Tradition is a core trait of humanity, from the time before recorded history to present, humanity has followed traditions or customs that have been passed down from generation to generation. More often than not communities all over the world blindly follow these practices with little regard to who started them or why they were enacted in the first place. The community, in the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, is no different. The community members follow the tradition of the lottery without any consideration to its ramifications.†¦show more content†¦In addition to the fear of change, Shirley Jackson also illustrates the blindness of the townsfolk to the dangers and complete irrationality of the lottery. The winner of the town lottery gets killed for no lucid reason what so ever. This stra nge ceremony proposes how dangerous traditions can be when communities follow them blindly. Jackson paints a picture of a small, peaceful and quiet town in the beginning of the story. Each villager is beginning preparations for a seemingly harmless town lottery; however, by the end of the story the reality of the lottery takes a complete 360 turn and culminates with the murder of an innocent town member. Blind approval of the lottery has permitted ceremonious murders to become a part of the towns heritage, for the sole reason of keeping tradition. Guess we better get started, get this over with, sos we can go back to work. (Jackson 840) These typical citizens, who have just taken time out of their day effortlessly kill someone, return to work without any remorse or regret when they are told to do so. No one stops to question it, and therefore the senseless loss of life continues. Jackson uses the lottery as a severe example of what can happen when traditions and rituals are not ques tioned by future generations. Tradition is central to small towns; it provides a way for families and generations to connect with each other. However, when blindly followed these