The Lottery

Dear Editor,

Shirley Jackson’s, The Lottery presents tradition in the form of a grotesque gamble that I utterly disagree with. The murder of one citizen a year in order to assure the success of a harvest is wholly unethical. No matter how evocative to one’s culture or society, tradition is never adequate rationalization for slaughter.
The town’s inhabitants are merely descendants of the originators of the lottery. It would be simple for them to alter the stoning tradition, banishing this foolish practice. The villagers lack the independence and audacity necessary to break away from the pack and abolish the lottery. They fear eradicating the superstition as they are not sure what might happen. Alas, the older, conventional members of the town, such as the stereotypical elder, Old Man Warner make it even more difficult to change this ancient tradition.     
In any time period or situation when beliefs are questioned, it is vital for a community to step back and ponder the consequences of their actions. Unjustified decimation of families is by no means tolerable. Especially since this tradition is nothing but folklore, uncorroborated by logic or reason. It simply doesn’t work, in no way enhancing production of the crops, therefore leaving it with no functional purpose. Death is the main damage in the case of The Lottery, or in modern day China for example, where there have been countless abortions of baby girls due to the fact that girls in Chinese culture are not as appreciated as boys. It seems acutely unfair that these babies are powerless in deciding their own fate and must yield to the demands of local beliefs akin to the villagers in The Lottery.
         In the story, the lottery is but a customary ritual to be performed every year, ensuring a hearty crop. To the villagers, it is a hollow sacrifice, somehow essential to the welfare of other townsfolk. Most residents, like Tessie Hutchinson, are slow to interrogate the procedure until they “win,” and come to grasp that the lottery is in fact a most ghastly and dreadful practice. The villagers adopt an apathetic attitude towards the lottery that ends up stabbing them in the back if they are confronted by the black dot. These hypocritical people are nonchalant when it comes to the death of their fellow town citizens, but the instant they are chosen, the lottery becomes biased and impartial. Consequently, the lottery should be re-examined and reconsidered by the town members.
         Today, many traditions are beginning to wane, and with that comes probing and inquiring. Amidst these inquisitions, it is simply derisory that an unfounded myth should justify one’s actions. Why must tradition, such as that in Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery be linked to calamity and adversity, merely for the sake of one’s tenuous beliefs? When mindless adherence to custom occurs, there should be even greater resistance to continue. Despite the negative nature of tradition in The Lottery, there will always be devotion to positive customs that bring delight to families and friends, whoever they may be.
         Sincerely,
                   Lenna Rivoli