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Rebellion In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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As members of society and a popular culture, we do much without even discerning why or how these certain practices came about. Many actions in our daily lives are results of these so-called traditions. Anything from red beans on Monday to mass on Sunday can be described as a tradition rooted in the past. But at what point is it required to dispose of long-held traditions that have been followed for decades or even centuries? Just because in the past something was considered acceptable—such as slavery—does not mean that it should be accepted as right. This question is just the problem Tessie Hutchinson, the protagonist of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” reveals when she is chosen to be stoned to death. The lottery, a long tradition in the town …show more content…
In the story it is mentioned that “The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk” (Jackson). This description sums up the entire ideology the town has that men are more superior. This ideology can be linked to the feeling of resentment in the women of the town. Tessie seems to be rebellious when she arrives late to the lottery making the claim the villagers would not want her to leave her dishes in the sink—a subtle attack women’s restricted role outside of the home. Furthermore, Jackson’s allusion to Anne Hutchinson reinforces the lurking sense of rebellion within Tessie (Oehlschlaeger 261). Even after she is elected, the story portrays her as a “poor sport” trying to include the rest of her family in the final selection to improve her odds of survival (Whittier 359). While Tessie is the main character and most rebellious villager, there is another woman who offers a sense of disobedience to the story. Mrs. Adams points out that “some places have already quit lotteries” suggesting that the ritual ought to be reevaluated (Jackson). After Tessie is chosen, there is no description of Mrs. Adams participating in the execution as a mark of rebellion and disagreement with the lottery (Oehlschlaeger 260). These two women embody a desire to …show more content…
With all of this power they can use the means of the lottery to do as they please. Peter Konsenko states that “[The Lottery] serves the repressive ideological function of purging the social body of all resistance, so business can go on as usual and the Summers, Graves, and Martins can remain in power” (194). With all of this control, the men can afford to dispose of any rebellious nature, especially within the female society, that threaten their traditional way of life. The lottery can also be used as a scare tactic to prevent people from straying from the norm in fear that they might be the lottery’s next victim. This scare tactic may be the reason that no other woman in “The Lottery” speaks out against the tradition. For they know that if they prove to be rebellious and a danger to the towns tradition they may be chosen at “random” by the next lottery. The lottery is also a way of taking the villagers minds off the division of labor that keeps the women working in their homes (Konsenko 195). When he ritual is over and everyone goes back home, the surviving villagers feel as if they are lucky to have escaped the lottery. They return to their house only to begin to worry about who the next lottery’s victim will be. This fear further restricts the rights of women and thus allows them less freedom and power within the

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