Conformity And Tradition In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson tells a tale so dark and twisted that one must ask if we are all capable of committing crimes for the name of conformity and tradition. That the dark side of human nature can be brought out by the need to conform to archaic standards in a way of fitting in and keeping traditions alive.
The word lottery should bring the feeling of excitement and anticipation to any town gathering, however, the first two paragraphs of the story give rise to the thought that everything is not what it seems. That the idea of a lottery, may not hold the same excitement as one would think. We see this first with the children, the boys busy gathering stones and making piles of them in the square and, the girls standing off to the side talking to each other. School has just let out for the summer, instead of gathering and playing joyously the children are separate.
Secondly, the reader gets the sense the lottery is serious business and not a time for fun and laughter. This is evident when the men are gathered speaking quietly among themselves and their wives join them, calling their children to join them. Bobby …show more content…
This is where the clues Jackson has provided throughout the story finally paint a clear picture of what exactly the lottery means. It is within these last few lines that we begin to see the true depth, the true darkness that hides within this small town. Jackson writes, the pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready. Tessi stood in the center of a cleared space and held her hands out in a last desperate attempt to stop the horror that is to come. As she says, “It isn’t fair.”, a rock hits her in the head. Old Man Warner seems to egg everyone on by saying “Come on, come on, everyone.” The reader is at this point able to see the full scope of the evil that resides in the
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