The Lottery (Short Analysis)

376 Words2 Pages
With Ignorance, We All Lose The context of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is easily applied to almost any society. It can be gathered from the text that the subject is resistance, more specifically resistance to change. It tells of a village that is preparing for a yearly ritual that is to commence in only a few moments. Throughout the piece the reader is given a few details of the ceremony and the environment that it is to take place in. Ultimately the story leads to a murder the reader is not expecting. The central idea of this piece is how we, as people, can be blindly led by tradition, unquestioning it, allowing it to rule us and dictate our actions or justify them, even if it is detrimental. In this shorty story, tradition and customs have normalized gruesome actions in the society. The only clear conflict I was able to find in this story, was that of resistance to change in the society. While it is only briefly discusses, that might even more highlight the communities ideas or lack of embracing change, as the one and only time it is mentioned, it is scoffed at. When Mr. Adams mentions to Old Man Warner he replies, “Nothing but trouble in that. Pack of young fools.” It is not completely clear if Mr. Adams himself was mentioning this as he might be questioning this archaic and barbaric practice himself, or if he too shared in Old Man Warner’s sentiments. However, quickly the conversation was put to a stop and Old Man Warner’s reaction speak volumes about how the town was able to continue this tradition without question. Simply the mention of change and diverting from tradition is quickly and hastily slammed, bashed, and ironically, associated with “living in caves” as Mr. Warner put it. Shirley Jackson used the community’s fear of change and reliance on the ironically named “Lottery”, ironic because it implies that there is a reward for the selected

More about The Lottery (Short Analysis)

Open Document