Question My Odds In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson
Question My Odds If I asked if you were serving sushi for your next Thanksgiving dinner, you'd give me a puzzled look and think to yourself, "who is this idiot?" Like millions of others, you'll likely enjoy turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the other traditional trimmings. You follow tradition so there's no need to invent a special menu. By definition, you simply comply with the prescribed formula from the past. No need to think, whatsoever. If you think about it, the whole idea of a tradition causes us to turn off our brains. It is the easy, lazy thing to do. Just blindly follow the past so you don't have to do the hard work of critical thinking in the present. The lottery represents any tradition that is inherited from one generation
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The lottery has been taking place in the village before old Warner was born. The lottery is an approved unquestioned tradition, an annual custom that no one has enough courage and bravery to challenge. The lottery is an indispensable part of the village’s culture. As said by Old Man Warner, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. Although the way of running the lottery has changed over the years, the lottery continues each year. The obvious consequence is a terrifying crime carried on the behalf of annual tradition. Shirley Jackson made clear that following any tradition blindly can create violence between the people of the society. The lottery emphasizes on the destructive result of following unquestioned traditions that can destroy a society. Jackson uses the bloody lottery as a horrifying example of when tradition defeats our logic and common sense. There is nothing wrong with following a tradition; however, tradition merely for tradition's sake can lead to the …show more content…
The height of the roof-tops from where the ritual is carried out may vary from 30 to 50 feet. Once the devotee reaches the top, he hands over the baby to few men waiting to carry out the task. Often these men are local priests and their disciples. The priest and other men hold the baby out over the edge of the roof. They shake and swing the baby rigorously, to supposedly ward-off any fear and evil, all the while chanting phrases to please god to bless this child. And suddenly, without any hesitation, the baby is released from the grasp of the priest. Free-falling, the baby lands on a blanket held tight by a group of 10 to 15 men at the ground. Immediately the baby is picked up and passed around for the blessing before returning to the mother. This ritual is carried out on the premise of a belief that it brings good luck, health and prosperity to the child. This similar to the lottery where poor Tessie Hutchinson sacrificed to the gods of a fertility religion to make sure that the crops will grow and the village will
The lottery has been taking place in the village before old Warner was born. The lottery is an approved unquestioned tradition, an annual custom that no one has enough courage and bravery to challenge. The lottery is an indispensable part of the village’s culture. As said by Old Man Warner, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. Although the way of running the lottery has changed over the years, the lottery continues each year. The obvious consequence is a terrifying crime carried on the behalf of annual tradition. Shirley Jackson made clear that following any tradition blindly can create violence between the people of the society. The lottery emphasizes on the destructive result of following unquestioned traditions that can destroy a society. Jackson uses the bloody lottery as a horrifying example of when tradition defeats our logic and common sense. There is nothing wrong with following a tradition; however, tradition merely for tradition's sake can lead to the …show more content…
The height of the roof-tops from where the ritual is carried out may vary from 30 to 50 feet. Once the devotee reaches the top, he hands over the baby to few men waiting to carry out the task. Often these men are local priests and their disciples. The priest and other men hold the baby out over the edge of the roof. They shake and swing the baby rigorously, to supposedly ward-off any fear and evil, all the while chanting phrases to please god to bless this child. And suddenly, without any hesitation, the baby is released from the grasp of the priest. Free-falling, the baby lands on a blanket held tight by a group of 10 to 15 men at the ground. Immediately the baby is picked up and passed around for the blessing before returning to the mother. This ritual is carried out on the premise of a belief that it brings good luck, health and prosperity to the child. This similar to the lottery where poor Tessie Hutchinson sacrificed to the gods of a fertility religion to make sure that the crops will grow and the village will