Fiction Reading Response -- the Essay

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However, because the townspeople still object to changing or replacing it no matter how bad its condition, it is still being used. That seems to be an intended parallel to the lottery ritual itself (and to all rituals). Both the original paraphernalia and the condition of the box probably represent the ancient origin (and modern inapplicability) of most cultural rituals.

Along the same lines, the author provides a hint as to the origin of the lottery in the memory of Old Man Warner, who, in response to the suggestion that maybe the lottery should be reconsidered, recounts that "[there] Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery." The implication is that the ritual began long ago at a time when townspeople believed they had to sacrifice one of their own to ensure a good harvest season. Old Man Warner then petulantly adds his criticism that it is "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody." That implies that the ritual used to be more solemn and that the relaxed way it is being conducted today already represents too much of a change for anybody who remembers the way the ritual used to be conducted.

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Conclusion

The larger meaning of the story The Lottery is that many human rituals and, more importantly, many of the fundamental beliefs of human societies do not serve any meaningful purpose. Even worse, some of them are negative influences on society whose origins are either entirely unknown or only vaguely remembered. The story also suggests that cultural beliefs and social values must always be questioned rationally and that objective criticism must always outweigh the momentum of the fact that certain things may have been done a particular way in the past. On a more general level, the story provides an example that even otherwise rational and sane people will accept horrific ideas if they are presented as being "normal" in their social environment.

It is likely that some of the inspirations for The Lottery included the Nazi persecution of the Jews, the complicity of non-Jewish civilian populations in Germany and Europe during that era, the acceptance of racial subjugation, persecution, and inequality in the United States prior to the Civil Rights era. More generally, the story provides a valuable lesson about how important it is to question any element of society that seems to be wrong, regardless of how long things may have been done the same way in the….....

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