To almost the end of the story, the writer does not mention about the real truth about 'the lottery'. The townspeople seem to be longing for the event, enjoying it, with such a certainty that even young children possesses. At the climax, the readers are shocked to learn that the purpose of the lottery was for choosing a person to kill, and then they can truly understand some mysterious details appeared previously -- why Mrs. Hutchinson seemed so frightened when she was selected, and why the nearby towns abandoned the lottery tradition one by one.
This story shows the power of tradition. According to the old man Warner, the lottery has been held for at least seventy-seven times. Now this tradition is regarded as such a crucial part of the townspeople's lives that they believe abolition of the lottery would lead to "living in caves, work any more, live hat way for a while". It is unquestionable that the lottery is a barbaric, gruesome practice that cannot be held among normal people. Still, this nonsense is happening in this town, emphasizing that tradition has power to even make the most irrational event happen.
The power of tradition is even more emphasized from the writer's setting of "commonness". The town is very common, the townspeople are very normal -- they are nothing like past-criminals -- everything seems not that different from an ordinary rural American town. Why the author appointed such a fragrant event happen in a normal place is answered by observing her childhood; .......
Comments
Rhee Ji Yoon: You write fastly and your writings are good! Your thesis is clear throughout the essay and I think this is one of your strong points (or abilities?) in writing.
People fear new things. People feared TV when they were first invented and argued that people would go dumb because of the box. People also feared genetic science; they thought that too much of the technology would eventually devalue the importance of themselves. I think that fear of changing tradition can be understood in the same context.
Hyejoon Lee: I liked how you emphasized the importance, or the influence, of "tradition". I also believe that "tradition", once settled into the lives of common people, loses its original purpose and becomes one of the things that they always do, regardless of whether it is a cruel tradition or not. While tradition may be the means of defining a culture, it might also be a dangerous weapon against the culture and the inhabitants themselves.
Nuri Kim: The power of tradition may be one aspect Shirley Jackson used to portray what she wanted to say throughout the story -- however I don't think the story itself 'shows' the power of tradition. While mentioning the power of tradition, I think it would be better to put in ideas like "because of tradition, the townspeople failed to object to the horrible ritual practice". Also you might want to point out why they were so indifferent of the tradition (except for the child's family).
Soho Shim: I really like your opinion about the reason why the townspeople do a lottery. Yes, tradition is so entrenched to people's lives that it becomes necessary. however, I personally think that maybe they are simply doing that act because it is a "tradition". Rather than it is crucial or not, people might commit that without any apparent reasons. Well... this is just my point of view, and thinking about the other possible reasons can help you to enrich your reflection!
InHee Ho: I like how you jumped right to the story. The point about vagueness of lottery -- I totally agree with it. I also like how you linked tradition to lottery and barbarity. But it would be better if you reveal a little more about the 'tradition' (such as the reason why it can be tradition, how it changes and unnoticeably adapt to new societal trends, how it can exist forever, etc.)
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