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The Lucky Box
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The Lucky Box
Immediately I arrived home from school; I was startled to find the unusual at our home compound. Things looked weird, and the environment was very calm. I whispered to call my pet dog Belly, but it did not show up as it used to do. I headed straight to the backyard of our compound where I stared in disbelief the dead body of my dear pet. I rushed to my small bedroom feeling exhausted after a busy day. As I laid myself on the bed, I started remembering what I experienced today, and this made me feel like this was the worst day of my life. At the morning as I crossed the main road, I was almost knocked down by a first moving vehicle. I was also embarrassed today when all the students laughed and joked at me when I was choked as I had my lunch. They joked how I was eating like a hyena and some students also blackmailed me by pouring their food on my plate and told me to ask for more if I will not be satisfied. I left all the food at the table having taken a bit of it and headed straight to the classroom. I felt rejected and lonely, but I tried as much as I could to look stronger. The day seemed to be the worst day of my life.
I started wondering what could be detrimental to this day. Deep thoughts engulfed me that I could not rest the way I intended to do. That encounter led to the memories of my late grandfather who was so dear not only to me but the entire family. When his memories came into my mind, I speedily got out of the bed and looked underneath the bed. There was a small metallic box which looked old as the hills. I pulled it closer, and it was entirely covered with dust. It seemed to have stayed for days without being used. The box contained three pebble stones. I was given the box with the three stones by my late grandfather when I was ten years old, and I remember him telling me these words, “ grandson listen carefully and attentively, this box is called a lucky box, and it contains three stones.” He further went on explaining “the stones are hereditary and it has a charm of good luck. You have to open the box and hold the stones for some seconds once in a month for your better days and memories ahead.”
I reminisced to have not opened the box for a while. The last time I could remember to have opened the box was like three months ago. I viewed this as the repercussion of my ignorance thus the reason I had a detestable day and moments today. My grandfather had told me if I stayed for too long without checking the box and performing the activity of holding the stones, something bizarre might happen. He further said to me that I might lose something dear to me if I neglect the box. I thought of the terrible thing that had just happened, losing my precious pet dog. I got perplexed how this could have happened. I had been opening the box out of fun not knowing it was of some benefit to me for all that time. I held the box gently as if I could not let it go and like it was the only thing that I had at the moment. I feared losing it thinking that another terrible something might happen.
Suddenly, my mother entered my room. She told me that she had been calling and looked for me all over and I was just here sitting on my pet holding just a box. She quickly noticed my sad face and asked me what was wrong. First I was afraid of narrating my ordeal because I thought she would criticize me because I had concealed about the box to myself for many years without disclosing to her. Later I made my mind and told her everything. She consoled with me and said she knew that my grandfather had that lucky box and it was supposed to be hereditary. The only thing she did not know is who my grandfather would leave the box to who. The box was hereditable because my grandfather was also given the lucky box by his father before he died. It was to be left with the care of the person who my grandfather cherished the most, and this made me smile since I remembered how we were great friends with my grandpa. My mother told me to do as I was told by my grandfather to avoid such incidences that just happened.
She left me in the room after comforting with me as I looked at the stones with great astonishment. I cleaned the box and decided to put it well under intensive care after realizing it can bring misfortunes if unhandled. However, I was happy because it led to the great memories we shared with my grandfather and having realized he was that dear to me. I kept the box where I would see it daily for my lucky days ahead. That day I retired to bed having realized that material objects can connect us to memories of our past and the lives of loved ones, and we often cherish them because they remind of someone famous, make us feel nostalgic about our childhood, or are a necessary part of a family tradition.
The Lottery
The Lottery
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The Lottery
The lottery characterizes every act, conduct, and even idea that is approved down from one generation to the succeeding and which is accepted and followed unhesitatingly, without considering how inconsistent, strange, or unpleasant it could be. It is a custom, a yearly ceremonial activity that nobody has tried to question. From the Shirley Jackson’s short story, the theme of anachronistic tradition have been displayed as portrayed in this essay.
The community lottery concludes in a ferocious killing every year, a strange ceremony that advocates how risky tradition could be once people follow it carelessly. Before we know what kind of lottery they’re conducting, the residents in the village and their arrangements appears harmless, even charming. They have chosen a fairly pitiful gentleman to lead the lottery, and youngsters ride around gathering shingles in the town square. Every person seems anxious with a comical appearance. The lottery comprises of little other than handmade gaffes of rag. Custom is widespread to minor towns, a way to link relatives and peers. Jackson, though, thrusts hovels in the admiration that societies partake for belief. She points out that the inhabitants do not actually recognize greatly about the origin of the lottery though they try to reserve the ritual nonetheless.
The residents’ blind reception of the lottery has permitted ceremonial killing to develop in their town drapery. As they have confirmed, they feel incapable to adjust or even attempt to change anything, though there is nobody driving them to retain things the same. “Aged Man Warner is so faithful to the tradition that he fears the villagers will return to primitive times if they stop holding the lottery” (Jackson, 2017, P 189-213) . These normal persons, who have recently come from work or from their families and will shortly get back home for lunch, simply murder somebody once they are demanded to. And they do not have a good motive for undertaking it apart from the detail that they have constantly performed a lottery to murder an individual. If the villagers desisted to inquire it, they would be required to question themselves why they are compelling a murder but no one stops to ask. For them, the fact that this is ritual is a good reason enough and offers them all the defense they require.
Villagers oppress persons at random, and the target is guilty of no wrongdoing apart from drawing the mistaken blunder of paper from a carton. The extravagant ceremony of the lottery is planned in such a way so that all villagers have equal chances of becoming the victims even offspring are at a high danger. Every year, somebody new is selected and murdered, and no single family that is safe at all. Whatever that makes the Lottery very alarming is the rapidity with which the villagers go in contradiction of the target person. The instant that Tessie Hutchinson picks the marked slip of paper, she loses her character as a common house girl (Jackson, 2017, P 162). Her associates and family take part in the murder with as much interest as every other person in the squad. Tessie fundamentally becomes indiscernible to them in the passion of harassment. Though she has done anything “wrong,” her guiltlessness does not matter. She has drawn the marked paper and therefore she has herself become distinct and as per the logic of the lottery, she therefore must be killed.
The author of the Lottery is trying to clearly indicate that one should not follow traditions carelessly just because that they are traditions. In the story, Tessie Hutchinson doesn’t speak out in contradiction of the lottery or try to alter the status quo until she herself is affected. When she tries to say the practice is not just, it’s too late for her or anyone else to speak out.
References
Bouskila, Y. (2019). Just Checking. Pennsylvania Literary Journal, 11(1), 203-317.
Pojprasat, S. (2017). A Re-Criticism of The Lottery. 25(49), 189-213.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
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The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The traditions of a particular community define its way of life and give a long time direction of its activities. In the story, ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson depicts the theme of tradition through the main event of conducting a lottery every year with the aim of offering one member of the group as a sacrifice. As a result, the farming community was guaranteed a bumper harvest every season. Moreover, tradition seems to prevail without much questioning on its repercussions such as the violation of the rights of human beings. Although in the story a kind of justice seems to exist such that each member of the community had an equal chance of being stoned at any particular time. The practice of the lottery event was a longtime occurrence that perpetuated the form of indemnity against future uncertain events. (Newman et al. p.857). Now that human beings have a restless nature of fearing the unknowns it was necessary for the community to pass on to generations the practice of the lottery event. According to the community addressed in the ‘The lottery story’ each generation has embraced the tradition and only allowing minor changes to be done.
The theme of tradition is clearly brought out when Mrs Hutchinson makes the following comments jokingly, “Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie.” Mrs Hutchinson said, grinning, “would not have me leave the dishes in the sink, now, would you, Joe?’’ the statements leave the crowd in soft laughter (page 635). The statement is a clear indication that Mrs Hutchinson was used to the lottery being carried out and she was aware of its need. A superior power could not control the crowd that just smiled portrayed a lot of tension since the results of the event, yet it was mandatory.
Mr Summer’s statements and language portray the lottery event as any contest that is carried out as a norm of the people in that town. Surprisingly everybody including children had gathered stones and pebbles with so much ease despite their knowledge of what brutality the rocks will cause. A clear impression comes out when people start throwing stones at the mention of Tessie Hutchinson as the final victim. Moreover, the story states that the children had already gathered some heaps of stones. As indicated “the children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles” (page 640). This tradition has so much predominated the society addressed by Shirley Jackson such that nobody bothers to be sympathetic (Shirley). Even blood ties were rarely concerned as we find that Tessie’s young son was at the forefront to throw stones on her.
Old man warner had contributed in the lottery for about seventy-seven whiles as depicted in the story “it is not the way it used to be,” he said openly. “People ain’t that to be.” Based on my opinion people are no longer controlled by human emotion including being sympathetic but instead holds the principle that traditions are vital and always stand regardless of how the situations fail to follow the rules of morality. Generations and passage of time tend to strengthen a tradition no one tends to object the lottery event or consider it as wrong. The people get motivated as the Old Man Warner was articulating, “Come on, and come on, everyone” (page 639). A tradition has blinded this society to the extent that no one can defy from the custom that has existed from the time immemorial. It only seems to dawn on some of them that the practice is wrong when their unexpected chance becomes a reality at hand. The moment Tessie Hutchinson realized that her husband had been chosen, she was so swift to claim that the drawing was not fair (Anderson et al.). Tessie denied that Bill Hutchinson had not been given enough time to take a paper of his choice. At the moment the drawbacks of the tradition were very vivid in her mind.
The black box also symbolizes tradition, Mr Summer had suggested to the people the need of making a new box, but they opposed. The people in town felt that any change to the box could interfere with the tradition. The story indicates “Mr Summer frequently spoke to the residents concerning creating a new box, and however no one enjoyed to distress even as much the custom as was signified by the black box” (page 630). Despite the damage of the custom the emulated black box preserves the community in a specific order. It seems the town would lose direction and control if the tradition came to a halt. The culture had denied the people certain freedom such that all people had to act the same way (Prather and Mary). It seems anyone who would dare to take a different path would be unsafe to stay in the town and more so be considered as a betrayer of the majority.
In conclusion, the overriding lottery theme is a tradition. The lottery event occurs every year, using the same black box, the same brutality, and violence with no significant changes. It is clearly shown that the people believed in losing something for them to make any forward progress. From the story, we learn that the essential thing in life is to live our present to the best since future events are unknown and unpredictable. Although traditions seem to prevail over time, it is also possible to break from its entangling ties. Subsequently, the lottery has revitalized the great need to question the morality of the daily practices of our society. As a reader, I learn how to deal with unexpected situations, how to stand firmly and defy traditional practices that violate human rights.
Works cited
Anderson, Melanie R., and Lisa Kröger, eds. Shirley Jackson, Influences and Confluences. Routledge, 2016.
Jackson, Shirley. The lottery. Wildside Press LLC, 2018.
Newman, Judie. “Ruth Franklin, Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life (New York: Liveright, 2016,£ 21.25). Pp. xiii+ 607. isbn 978 0 8714 0313 1.” Journal of American Studies 52.3 (2018): 856-858.
Prather, Mary. “Ursula K. LeGuin and Shirley Jackson: Expanding Dystopia’s Definition in the 20th Century.” (2017).