The Lottery Story Analysis (Essay Sample)

Name Professor Course Date The Lottery Story Analysis Why the town’s people continue to practice sacrifice rituals even after neighboring towns have stopped. The town’s people in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson continue to practice sacrifice rituals even when they no longer remember the initial significance of the practice, and other towns have stopped. Several reasons make them devoted to the tradition without questioning its relevance and consequence to humanity; every year, a person is killed by stoning. One of the primary reasons is that they are afraid of upsetting the tradition, as seen in their reluctance to make a new box. The text states, “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 p 4, line 6). Even the oldest villagers, like Old Man Warner, find the lottery in place but are afraid of changing anything or abandoning it. Another reason is that they believe the sacrifice ritual holds the society together, bringing prosperity and preventing calamities. For instance, Old Man Warner refers to those who want to change the tradition as foolish, as such action could adversely affect the people. He says, “used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns”(Jackson p 8, line 15). According to him, the ritual brings prosperity, and abandoning it would bring trouble. Finally, the townspeople enjoy the ritual, as seen when the boys gather stones happily. No one wishes to miss the event, as witnessed by Mrs. Hutchinson, who runs to the lottery after realizing she is alone in the vill...