An Analysis On One Of The Elements Of The Short Story The Lottery

Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Analysis of the Theme of Tradition in The Lottery Thesis Statement Tradition enables the people to develop a sense of belonging in the community. Much as we should appreciate our tradition we should be careful on the practices that we should carry out and we should do away with traditions that lead to the destruction of life instead of improving life and enabling people to develop a sense of belonging. Destructive traditional practices are a hindrance to the development of the society. Introduction Tradition is one of the common aspects in each of the societies ha we come from. Tradition defines a community and it distinguishes it from the other communities in the society. In the story The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the author highlights the theme of tradition and how it can affect the lives of people. The setting of the story is constructed in such a way that it helps to build the mood and it foreshadows the things that will happen later in the story. When one begins reading the book, what they will tend to think of are the positive outcomes that will later unfold in the story. However, the setting of the story is an opposite foreshadow of what we later encounter in the story. Analysis of Tradition Theme in The Lottery To begin with, the author vividly describes to the reader the time of the day and year that the story is taking place. By explaining in detail the setting of the story, the reader can be able to realize that the event that is taking place is of importance to the people who stay in the town. It is in the morning and it takes place during early summer. She even goes further to describe that schools had recently closed for a summer break and as such, the reader can be able to know that it is during early summer that the ceremony is taking place. In addition, she also gives the story a positive outlook through describing the beauty of the day and at his point the reader can relax and be comfortable as they await positive incidences to unfold in the story. The author also describes the people and especially the children in an unusual way CITATION Hel95 \l 1033 (Helen 65). The children are playing happily while women are gossiping and the men are doing their farming activities. Everyone in the town is coming together for an enjoyable and a celebratory occasion. Ironically, the setting of the story is used cover the ritualistic and violent traditions that are seen in the story. The tradition is so important in this town that anyone who defies tradition is stoned to death as in the case of Mrs. HutchinsonCITATION Jen02 \p "par 4" \l 1033 (Jennifer par 4). There are two main symbols that are used to act as symbols of tradition in the town and they are the black box and farming. Farming as an activity is the way of life for the people in the community. In fact the men who are in The Lottery talk about planting, rain, and taxes. The ritual that will be performed will have an influence on the harvest that they will receive. There was also a saying in the town that, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon". The abundance of the harvest that they would receive depends on how they would perfor...