Topic > The Role of Tradition in Community in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

Tradition can be seen as a way of life, creating a reluctant response in a civilization when presented with the idea of ​​change, no matter how barbaric Maybe these are traditions. Shirley Jackson in her short story "The Lottery", with the use of symbolism, shows how a strong tradition can be sustained in a community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen a black box is brought into the room, the story focuses on the specific features of its appearance, provoking a symbolic meaning. Using the technique of incorrect anticipation, Jackson is able to divert attention from the true dark meaning behind this "lottery". Digging deeper into the story we can detect a change in mood when we realize the truth of the matter; a stoning. This tradition remains after all this time and becomes a social norm that even children would be willing to stone others and occasionally their own family members. Many symbols in history had parallel meanings to the idea of ​​tradition. An example would be the black box in the story which was used as a common paper drawing box, where the head of the family selected a strip of paper, but symbolically served its purpose in the story to reflect the tradition that has remained for many. years. This portrayal becomes apparent when the box is depicted as "an old black wooden box", which some citizens believe still has pieces of the original box attached to it. The fact that it is believed that this box still contains parts of the original suggests that after many years this box, being a symbol of tradition for the citizens, has managed to remain without external forces being able to break or replace it. with something new as the generations pass. A reinforcement that indicates that these people did not want to abandon this old tradition is when “Mr. Summers often spoke to the villagers about creating a new box, but no one liked to upset even that tradition represented by the black box. (Jackson, pg. 5) This allows the reader to better understand the meaning of the black box through embodied symbolic meaning. Reiterating the idea that tradition can be a powerful concept, we note that this cruel custom has become an acceptable concept within the community due to the fact that the entire town comes together in what seemed to be an emotional assembly, until to death, but which takes place so casually because every moral revulsion has been blocked. To some extent, some characters see it as a necessity, a way of life that cannot be stopped. Since the story explains that "the black box now resting on the stool had been used even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born", we can realize that "Old Man" Warner is used as a symbol and when he hears talk about a country that got rid of that tradition is lamented. He doesn't like the idea as he has lived his entire life experiencing this very old tradition. Old Man Warner takes it upon himself to uphold this tradition in the story by mistakenly anticipating the tone of the story. Jackson is able to divert attention from the fact that this is the lottery that ends with the death of the winner. Watching each character's nervous reaction to the card being pulled gives us the idea that there might be something more at play. When they describe the setting, there is a warm atmosphere as they explain that it is June (summer) and that all the.