The Importance Of Traditions In Southern Gothic Literature

Changes are not easily made in life. To be able to change, one must be able to handle and accept the consequences that going to happen because it not only affects the person that is willing to change, but it also affects the people that surround them. Common themes that are seen to advance Southern Gothic Literature short stories are the usage of “tradition” and “interiority” as a means of getting the readers to feel sympathy for the characters that have no control of changing their fate. From gender roles to society rules, people have an appetite for control and traditions are one aspect of life that people can and will control. Traditions are beliefs/procedures that are made from one point in time and then continued and done routinely. When traditions are being challenge to change or are in the process of being changed, the ones that are accustomed the most to certain traditions being to fear of losing control of what is theirs. In the short stories by Alice Munro and Shirley Jackson, both authors show that some traditions are found to be helpful and advantageous while others are poor and
Reading “The Runaway” and “The Lottery,” may lead readers to establish a conclusion that sometimes traditions lose their purpose for existing, either because the original intention has lost its effectiveness, or because the benefits that are to be gained from changing traditions outnumber the risks of the