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The Lottery -The Acceptance of Tradition - Online Term Paper

The Lottery -The Acceptance of Tradition

Tradition can be defined as a ritual or belief passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. In most cases traditions are a way to connect past generations and generations to come. A tradition can even be used as a way to remember what life was like for our ancestors. The short story “The Lottery puts a whole new spin on our basic definition of tradition. In The Lottery, Jackson focuses on the destructiveness of a time-honored tradition. One thing we must be mindful of is that a particular tradition such as the lottery may loose its meaning or purpose over time.
The title of the short story misguides the reader into thinking that the ...

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to annually. Jackson foreshadows the ending of the story in the beginning when she talks about the children collecting the smoothest and roundest stones and putting them in piles. Little do we know the stones are the “weapons” used to destroy the unlucky winner of the lottery. Ordinary folks in the society consider the lottery an ordinary ritual or tradition. “Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes…The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their men folk.” (The Lottery, 247) Jackson describes the characters as run of the mill townspeople. There is nothing special that makes them indifferent from the next community over.
The lottery is a time-honored tradition. The “winner” of the lottery is drawn from a black box. Jackson speaks a great deal about the black box and it’s history in this society. “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and ...

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The Lottery -The Acceptance of Tradition. (2011, March 6). Retrieved January 6, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Lottery-The-Acceptance-of-Tradition/95573

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 3/6/2011 01:10:07 PM
Submitted By: megeary17
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1105
Pages: 5

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