"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson: Question 4

       "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, is the story of a town and the town's traditions.  Specifically the tradition of the lottery.  This tradition is not the regular lottery modern societies have today.  This lottery helps choose one person to be stoned.  The significance of the fact that the original box has been lost and many parts of the ritual have been forgotten is that the town is blindly following tradition without knowing why.  Also this short story is a warning against blindly following tradition.  On page 268 Old Man Warner states this old saying, " 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' "  This strongly suggests that the reason for the lottery was a "sacrifice" so there would follow a fruitful harvest.  Most of the villagers are not even aware that this was the original reason for the lottery.  This short story strongly warns against blindly following tradition by using an extreme example such as this.