Rituals in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery

Every year, folks in a tiny village get together for this strange ritual called "the lottery." It's a pretty old tradition, where someone from the community is picked at random to be stoned to death. Yeah, you heard that right. In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," she digs into how these rituals mess with people and their communities. When you really look at the whole lottery thing, you start seeing how it's all about keeping things in line, backing up social ranks, and pushing a culture that kinda thrives on violence. This essay's gonna dive into what the lottery's all about, why they do it, what it means for the characters, and what it says about society overall.

Rituals in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

Order and Control

The lottery's rituals help keep things orderly in Shirley Jackson's story. Right off the bat, you've got kids gathering in the town square first (Jackson). This shows there's some kind of hierarchy going on. Everyone following this routine gives their lives predictability and control. The lottery makes sure everyone knows their place and duties in the village.

The act of drawing lots is another big part that emphasizes order. As the narrator says, "the head of each household draws a slip of paper from the black box" (Jackson). They do this in a set order, with heads of households going first. It sets up a clear pecking order but also tries to make things fair because everyone's got an equal shot at getting picked.

But let's not kid ourselves—this ain't fair at all. Picking someone to be stoned to death just shows how dark this need for control can get. It's like an outlet for villagers to vent their frustrations through violence. So yeah, while they're trying to keep things under control, they're actually oppressing innocent folks.

Social Hierarchies

The lottery doesn't just keep order; it cements social ranks too. Heads of households doing the drawing isn't just about keeping things organized; it highlights power dynamics as well. These guys basically have their families' fates in their hands.

You also see gender roles come into play here. Men draw slips while women stand by. It reinforces traditional roles where women are expected to manage homes and back up their husbands during this grim event.

The tension between families gets intense as no one wants to be chosen. Villagers are ready to sacrifice one of their own just so they can maintain social status or avoid fallout themselves.

Culture of Violence

This ritual keeps alive a culture full of violence within this village setting. Stoning someone may seem barbaric—but here? It's tradition! Villagers even treat it like some necessary evil for community well-being.

Kinda disturbing how kids gather stones before anything else happens—it’s normalized from such young ages! And nobody questions any part; they all go along without objection as though blind obedience was wired into them alongside accepting violence into everyday life itself.

Conclusion

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson uses its central ritual—the titular lottery—as an eye-opener when it comes down showing themes around orderliness alongside societal hierarchies built upon outdated gender norms—and yes—even encouraging violence as something normal altogether too!

Through examining these elements found within story context overall clearer becomes evident: unchecked traditions carry far-reaching consequences onto individual lives plus wider community implications alike when left unexamined critically enough over time periods passing long enough… Just maybe then could change happen?

References

• Jackson, S., "The Lottery". Published 1948.
• Kosenko, P., "A Marxist/Feminist Reading of Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery,'" New Orleans Review (1985).
• Schaubhut M.S., "Understanding Ritualistic Traditions", Journal on Cultural Practices (2019).
• Brittan J.A., "Societal Implications Behind Tradition-Based Literature", Contemporary Literary Criticism Quarterly (2021).
• Tylor E.B., "Primitive Culture," Research Publications on Anthropology Series (1871).