Religious Tradition in Shirley Jacksons The Lottery Essay -- jackson

Religious Tradition in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While 'The Lottery' is a fictitious story it can be argued that it mirrors the attitude of American culture in how it addresses religious tradition in its major holidays and celebrations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two of the biggest holidays in the United States are Christmas and Easter. Both of which are derived from Christian beliefs. Even though 'The Lottery' is apparently a pagan ritual, violent and horrific, it is appropriate, only by the fact that the participants no longer remember, or seem to care, what the original intent of the ritual or the significance of its traditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we are introduced to the lottery, we see the traditions that are currently observed. These include the townspeople gathering in the square, the children gathering rocks and making piles of them. A black box is the current receptacle for the lots to be drawn: 'The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put to use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born.' (Jackson 367).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story belies the villagers respect for tradition. The lottery official was said to have spoken ?frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box.? (Jackson 367) We know that the black box was not the original vessel for the lottery. Many changes and omissions from lotteries past also, speak of the villagers? apathy for tradition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some changes were out of necessity, ?slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that were used for generations? (Jackson 367) due to the fact that the population size of the village had grown from the original lottery. This made the use of the wood chips unpractical.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other changes took place, it would seem, just to make the lottery go faster. ?there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, un... ...Christ making it the most honored and important holiday in the Christian religion. But it does have its traditions that are a far cry from the original intent. It should come as no surprise to find that the Easter Bunny was not present and distributing multi-colored hard-boiled eggs to the twelve apostles two-thousand years ago.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most holidays and celebrations in American culture have beginnings based on religious tradition, those same traditions are often forgotten or replaced by ones that have no relevance to the original intent. The erosion of tradition in ?The Lottery? mirrors that of our own society in the fact that customs change to suit society. The younger generations in ?The Lottery? took pleasure in the act of stoning someone to death. It no longer mattered that there had been a good reason for if, if indeed there had been a good reason. In our society, Christmas and Easter are used by big business to sell products and greeting cards. Tradition is only preserved if it benefits those who practice it. Works Cited: Jackson, Shirley. "The Lottery." Bridges: Literature Across Cultures. Gilbert H. Muller, John A. Williams. McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994. p 849-854.