The Lottery

When I begun reading "The Lottery", it reminded me of a town meeting. Everyone within the town came on June 27th to the town square because that was what they did every year, it was tradition."'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' There's always been a lottery" (408). It was a chance to get out of the house and away from work for the morning, and catch up with the neighbors. As I continued reading, what I believed was an innocent town meeting, revealed to have another purpose of stoning the winner to their death. It seems barbaric to us that people would stone and kill their neighbors because of a tradition. After some consideration of the time and place, I believe that it is not so much barbaric but strictly custom. While times have changed, the town did not want to abandon its past. As with many small towns, allowing change is difficult because they are afraid of losing their heritage and charm. This was not a "charming" custom, but it was all the town seemed to have held on to. While I do not agree with this particular custom, I agree that holding on to tradition is important, but it should not be at the expense of someone else. I think that real tradition the town was trying to hold on to was the value and moral of the lottery. They wanted to remind the people that life is like a lottery, you never know when you will be the one with the black spot. However strange and disturbing the lottery might seem, the message behind it seems like something worth holding on to.