“The Lottery” is a short story by Shirley Jackson in which you are introduced to the traditions of a small town. It's not a fun tradition like decorating a Christmas tree, it's much darker. Every year in the city there is a sort of lottery in which all the citizens gather and one member, usually the oldest male, draws a piece of paper. If that piece of paper has a certain black spot it will prove fatal for the family, because one member of the family will be randomly chosen and stoned by the rest of the city. This is a very dark tradition in which the whole city participates, including children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThere are many symbols in the Lottery that can be linked to today's society. The greatest symbol, however, is the theme of tradition. The “Lottery” itself is tradition and shows that tradition, no matter how toxic or unusual it may be, there will always be people who stick to tradition and never want any change. In the story, a town elder sits on the sidelines while families take a piece of paper from the box and he spouts things like “foolish fools” and “Listening to young people, nothing is good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll want to go back to living in caves, no one works anymore, live like that for a while. There was a saying about the June lottery, the corn will be heavy soon. “First we would all eat stewed chickweed and acorns. There has always been a lottery.” He thinks that changing the way things are done will only lead to chaos and he thinks that changing things is the start of something much worse and that soon the new generation will want to change everything and get rid of all traditions. His way of thinking is very toxic and is an example of following something without knowing it and just doing it because it's always been that way. This is an example of how people today follow rules, traditions or the status quo blindly and without having their own opinion. Another thing to consider is the fact that the people of the city are still passing down the tradition to the younger traditions, and don't give them a choice if they want to follow this tradition. The children in this story are taught from an early age that it is okay to continue this tradition. In the story a woman gives a stone to a very young boy, the boy is the son of the mother who was chosen to die. This shows that in the culture of this city, most people are more than okay with the tradition, to the point of handing a stone to a child to help him kill his mother in a very gruesome way. This plays with tradition and the danger of not changing path just because of a tradition. This relates to today because many older generations are stubborn and stick to their habits, and most importantly they teach and impose their thinking on everyone else, including the younger generations. The final piece of evidence that shows the symbol of tradition and how it can be connected to today's culture is people's fear and condescension. People may be forced to repeat traditions they have been taught even if they don't agree with that specific thing. For example, in the story, the family member who grabbed the paper with the black dot was the father. When he revealed that he was the one with the mark on the paper, his wife immediately stood by him, defended him and asked to redraw, so the family members, even the children, pull the papers again to see the new member who will be killed. This time, however, the wife is chosen and, unlike how she defended her husband, the husband remains silent.