The Foolishness of Blind Obedience in the Lottery

It is said that there is strength in numbers. While it

is true that a large group of people has more

authority than an individual, a single person within a

large group will almost always conform to some degree.

This, in a sense, weakens an individual and results in

fewer new ideas being introduced in favor of

maintaining group status. Often, practices or ideas

are accepted simply because they are favored by the

majority or have been a part of society for so long

that they have become tradition. In "The Lottery",

author Shirley Jackson uses disturbing images to aid

the reader in understanding the pointlessness and

foolishness of blind obedience. The selection stresses

the importance of questioning what is put in front of

you as opposed to conforming mindlessly.

The story begins with young children gathering in the

town square. They are laughing, playing, and generally

having fun doing things that most children do. Some of

the children are gathering stones from the surrounding

are and forming a mound of them together. Soon the men

and women arrive, bringing with them a less jovial

tone. The villagers make small talk laughing quietly

amongst one another while at the same time maintaining

a slight seriousness. Jackson makes some use of

foreshadowing early in the story by mentioning the

pile of stones and the way the older characters

distance themselves from it. “They stood together,

away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their

jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.”

The observant reader is able to sense that something

is not quite right about the atmosphere. These

suspicions are confirmed from the end of the story

when the reader learns that this gathering is part of

a sick and twisted ritual in which members of the

village draw paper slips from a box to select one

member of the village. This person is then used as a

scapegoat and is stoned to death to ensure a happy and

profitable year for the village....