The Lottery Shirley Jackson Scapegoat Analysis
“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson was a dark short story that had a slight twist to it. It was based in a village were citizens had a certain tradition passed on from generation to generation that they obeyed. The symbol of the lottery was a black box filled with slips of paper, in which one of those slips contains a black spot that decides the fate of the person picked. The scapegoat of the story was a mother and wife named Tessie Hutchinson. A scapegoat can be an animal or person that is unjustly blamed for something or used to take on the sins of others. It was quite controversial because no one questions the ritual and just accepts what is to come. On the other hand it was quite remarkable that the whole time in the story she was standing
…show more content…
Villagers were willing to have someone be the scapegoat once a year instead of accepting a change be made to their tradition that has been practiced for generations. It was never really known how is started but just remained with the people throughout time. The community as a whole knew that the person who was evidently picked in the lottery would be stoned to death. That was something they accepted rather than taking the risk of questioning or breaking the tradition. They rather risk one than commit to change. Every year they always need a new individual that will become the scapegoat in order to continue the forceful nature of the social setting. “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently 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 (5)”. The villagers just resist to change even though some of them disparage it. Most likely villagers have fear to question something like this tradition that has been used for a long
Villagers were willing to have someone be the scapegoat once a year instead of accepting a change be made to their tradition that has been practiced for generations. It was never really known how is started but just remained with the people throughout time. The community as a whole knew that the person who was evidently picked in the lottery would be stoned to death. That was something they accepted rather than taking the risk of questioning or breaking the tradition. They rather risk one than commit to change. Every year they always need a new individual that will become the scapegoat in order to continue the forceful nature of the social setting. “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently 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 (5)”. The villagers just resist to change even though some of them disparage it. Most likely villagers have fear to question something like this tradition that has been used for a long