Blind Following of Cultures: The Lottery, The Black Box, The Old Man Warner (Essay Sample)

Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Blind Following of Cultures
Introduction
The village lottery is an annual event where villagers gather in to sacrifice one of their own. The event had been taking place since time immemorial or from when the village was started. It is a chilling and an exciting event for the villagers. It takes place every June preceding harvesting season, ‘corn be heavy soon’ (Jackson 4). In the event, no one is given special consideration, the men, women and children all stand the same chance of being the marked victim. The lottery itself, the black box and the old man referred to as Warner signifies an important message, which the author, of the story intend to pass across (Jackson 1).
The Lottery
Conventionally, a lottery is an event whereby prize, consideration and chance are the key factors involved. This is true according to the lottery story by Shirley Jackson; the village lottery is an important event which has been passed down from generation to generation. It is used symbolically in the story to signify traditions and cultures of the people. As it is in every human society, the guardians of cultures are always the old people, and this is evident in the lottery, Mr. Summers, a pathetic guy is the one who preside over the event (Jackson 1)
The lottery event is a dangerous, inhuman and cruel undertaking done annually for no rational reason other keeping traditions. What is even disturbing about it is the enthusiasm with which the villagers participate in the event, without questioning why they are doing so. This is a clear depiction of what happens in society, often, people follow traditions without questioning their origin and purpose. Many people in society have been victimized, stigmatized or treated unfairly out of a blind adherence to useless traditions (Vas 53).
It is in the village lottery that a famous housewife, Tessie Hutchinson is killed by villagers in the cruelest manner. No one, not even her husband or relatives dares to question how an innocent person can be killed for no mistake. Instead, they blindly participate in the stoning her to death. This is an important message the author intends to pass across, that following traditions blindly is disastrous to everyone in society. Tessie appears late for the lottery and when asked why, she retorts that she had forgotten. This shows that she is not entrenched in traditions like other villagers. When she picks the marked paper, Tessie tries to protest of unfairness, but no one listens to her and instead, the villagers goes ahead to stone her to death. This is symbolic, that often in a society where there is a blind following of traditions; people who oppose traditions are victimized and treated unfairly by society.
Furthermore, the lottery symbolizes the normal events of every human society. It is reported that other villages have abandoned the lottery event and nothing have happened as opposed to the old man Warner’s belief. Thus, it is symbolic that in as much as the traditions, represented by the lottery are entrenched, there is a chance for people to abandon them.
The Black Box
The black box, which is used in the lottery, is symbolic to the dynamics of the event. Broadly, the black box, which is shabby, signifies traditions and villagers loyalty to them. Everything about the black box is absurd, despite being shabby; it is almost falling apart and is no longer even black. The villagers are not willing to replace it, `Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset as much tradition’ (Jackson 4). This is a revelation of how entrenched the villagers are regarding the traditions of the lottery. The men and women in the village have no reason to keep the black other than remaining faithful to the box’s origin. No one cares that the black box which barely resembles a box now, all they wan...