Blind Acceptance Of Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” shows humanity’s blind acceptance of tradition. This short story presents the tendency in human nature to hold to the status quo without critical thinking. The townspeople’s failure to understand the purpose behind the lottery, Old Man Warner’s condemnation of non-conformity, and the townspeople’s emotionless killing of Mrs. Hutchinson shows a culture’s blind acceptance of tradition. First, the townspeople show their blind acceptance of tradition in their failure to understand the purpose behind the lottery. Oftentimes, people who blindly follow tradition do so without ever considering the purpose behind the tradition. The townspeople seemingly lack a desire to understand the purpose behind the tradition because,
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This shift in argumentation, brought on by a failure to understand the purpose behind tradition and a rejection of non-conformists points to the third illustration of thoughtless acceptance of tradition. The townspeople show their blind acceptance of tradition by deadening their emotions. Battles between people kill emotion, allowing the debaters to battle with no thought to personal relationships. The final phase of the tradition came after the papers had been drawn and the victim had been selected. The killing of a friend was at hand. The townspeople were completely deadened emotionally and directed volitionally by tradition. Refusing to change tradition to provide for a more comfortable death for the victim was unheard of, for “they still remembered to use stones” (137). Tradition had so deadened the townspeople’s emotions that they were willing to stone a friend, a mother, and a wife: Mrs. Hutchinson. On individual was so blinded by tradition that he or she even gave a few stones to little Davy, Mrs. Hutchinson’s son, so that he too could join in with the killing. Though she screamed out “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (138) in an attempt to bring the townspeople to her senses, her voice fell upon deaf ears. The people had no affections that could cause them to reason. As tradition weaved itself into the townspeople’s hearts, the
This shift in argumentation, brought on by a failure to understand the purpose behind tradition and a rejection of non-conformists points to the third illustration of thoughtless acceptance of tradition. The townspeople show their blind acceptance of tradition by deadening their emotions. Battles between people kill emotion, allowing the debaters to battle with no thought to personal relationships. The final phase of the tradition came after the papers had been drawn and the victim had been selected. The killing of a friend was at hand. The townspeople were completely deadened emotionally and directed volitionally by tradition. Refusing to change tradition to provide for a more comfortable death for the victim was unheard of, for “they still remembered to use stones” (137). Tradition had so deadened the townspeople’s emotions that they were willing to stone a friend, a mother, and a wife: Mrs. Hutchinson. On individual was so blinded by tradition that he or she even gave a few stones to little Davy, Mrs. Hutchinson’s son, so that he too could join in with the killing. Though she screamed out “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (138) in an attempt to bring the townspeople to her senses, her voice fell upon deaf ears. The people had no affections that could cause them to reason. As tradition weaved itself into the townspeople’s hearts, the