Reason Behind The Lottery example essay topic

575 words
"The Lottery"The Lottery" is a short story that can be seen in both negative and positive aspects. The main point of the story is how on person is picked and then stoned to death just because of tradition. The people in the town were so caught up in following tradition that they do not realize what is really being done. At times a human being is unaware of his or her actions because they do not know otherwise, meaning they were brought up a certain way.

Many years ago there were race disputes among children because the parents taught the children to think a certain way. As the child grew up they did not know that treating someone differently because of their color was morally wrong. "The Lottery" symbolizes how people can be cruel unconsciously, in both the real world and the town people in the story. Our country has been through so many disputes about equality in the past. Americans were brought to believe that races should be separated. I don't think many people did it purposely because I believe the mentality of discrimination was just taught down through generations.

In schools, it's not unusual to see children isolate themselves from other races because they don't know any better, since that's how they were brought up by their parents. What I am trying to say is that people do things without thinking of the harm that is being caused because they are taught to follow tradition, or in other words the same mentality that their parents had. Throughout the story, the reason behind the lottery is never really specified. One reason could be for population purposes, but then again it was not a big town.

Mr. Summers just kept conducting the lottery each year and everyone just went along with the idea. No one was valiant enough to try to stop it because it was something that they had done every year ever since they could remember. Not one person tried to question anything because no one was bothered with the idea that someone be stoned to death. The children gathered the stones without the hesitation that one of their parents could be chosen.

One thing that I thought was unbelievable was that Tessie was trying to add her daughter to the list just beat the chances of her getting picked. It is beyond cruel that such act could be held each year because the town people don't know otherwise, without a reasonable purpose of taking someone's life. In our country's history a lot of unfair actions were done such as discrimination. Although some people were aware of their actions, some did not know any better and just went along with the crowd. Just like in the real world, "The Lottery" shows how people do things without realizing that there is not a perfectly good reason for the action.

The people in the town just attended the lottery each year like it was a holiday that needed to be celebrated without knowing where and why it originated. Not one person was brave enough to stand up to Mr. Summers to question why one of their loved ones had to be stoned to death. Unfair and cruel actions are seen in both the real world and in the "The Lottery.".