The Lottery - Shirley Jackson

“Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head” (Jackson 567).

I found my mind wandering through the majority of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”. However, upon reading the ending I went back and reread the story, fully understanding the reason for its construction. Jackson spends a good part of the story exploring tradition and what it means to the old and new generations. Tradition is something that everyone can identify with in one way or another and is, in many ways, a comforting and safe entity. The lottery seems like a tradition that most of the townspeople are willing to take part in and are excited about. The description of the old box gives the audience a sense of how much pride the town takes in conducting the yearly lottery and how important it is that the tradition stays intact. However, the final paragraphs completely remove the audience from the previously harmless atmosphere as Jackson redefines the idea of tradition. The stoning tradition present in “The Lottery” quickly becomes a morality debate; this morbid act made me think about how Americans view other countries and what they consider to be tradition. Are we to judge and condemn other’s traditions because they do not reflect the ideals and morals of our culture? Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” explores this idea and makes us think about how far we would allow “tradition” to go before deeming it cruel and inhumane.