Kimball Khetani

Literary Reflection Essay

Fitz English 8

December 6, 2018

Literary Reflection Essay

The Power Of Tradition In The Lottery

The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet. wetting their lips. not looking around

- The Lottery

    There is the power of tradition in most things. In the short story The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson. The theme, power of tradition played a huge role in this story. This had a effect on me personally because I can relate to having a tradition in my family or in the greater community around me. In this short story, the author is trying to show the reader what it is like to have a tradition and to for-fill it every year. The author shows how the lottery is set up every year. He shows how everybody knows when it is happening. And he shows that everybody is used to being at the lottery and they know how it roles.

    The main characters in this story are Mr. Summers, who runs the lottery. And the people of the town who participate in the lottery. “They do say,' Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, 'that over in the north village they're talking of giving up the lottery.” The main conflict in this story is the lottery. The lottery is when each of the family have a representative from their family and they get a piece of paper. If the paper has a black dot on it, then the representative gets stones throws at him or her until he or she dies. This story takes place at the beginning of the summer on November 27. This story takes happens  in a small village. The lottery also happens in other villages. 

    I can connect to the short story in many ways. One of the main themes in the story is the power of tradition. I have many traditions in my family like putting up a christmas tree during the holidays. I always going trick-or-treating on halloween with Theo. When I was reading The Lottery, I was thinking about all of the traditions that happen around me. The Lottery showed me that we can not give up our traditions.

    There is tradition in most things. Whether its at home, in the greater community, or even in the whole world. There are many things that bring tradition to life.