The Lottery Tradition

767 Words4 Pages
Jake gylinhall Assignment #2 Wednesday Class The Lottery builds itself around suspense of an old tradition of stoning one person within the village every year. This story is more importantly about the importance and strength that tradition can have on many groups of people, and even a large town. Tradition involves handing down beliefs, practice, or ritual from generation to generation. However, there is an obvious problem with tradition, if we weren’t present at the time the tradition was made, who was to judge if this tradition, in its beliefs and practice, were ethical or just? The power that helps overcome this problem is by argumentum ad Populum. This concept is shown in a very extreme way in “The Lottery.” The author exemplifies the…show more content…
His is the embodiment of superstition, the willingness to follow blindly the tradition that has been put in place in the village. He believes that the lottery will bring good fortune in crops. Throughout the lottery, Old Man Warner is unpleased with the proceedings of the tradition, criticizing it isn’t the way it was before. Warner represents the full effect of the argumentum ad Populum. The belief in the tradition has been followed for so long, with such little change. Arguing against Old Man Warner’s belief is difficult, simply because so many people, for such a long time, have been in support of the tradition. Wisdom gathered through age is hard to argue against, simply because the youth have yet to experience as much as the…show more content…
Summers arguably holds the most power in the village. Although Mr. Summers acts as the leader for the village, and holds the lottery himself, he does not exclude himself from the drawing. The people of the village do not question him, nor do they ask questions as to why he is allowed to pick the tickets, as well as, hold onto the tickets the night before the lottery. This all compliments itself into the view of tradition. The lives of the individuals participating are in the hands of Mr. Summers; however, everyone is comfortable in completely giving him power, simply because it has been that way for so long. Assuming the role of leader sets the demeanor of the village during the whole lottery process. Consciously, it is much easier to accept the lottery process if everyone especially the leader is following along, but it is also aided in having a leader with a nonchalant expression about him. After the name had been picked, Mr. Summers urged the village to hurry and get the stoning over with so that the people can get back to their
Open Document