After reading the short story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Summary, I believe I can offer up and give you a fresh if not unique take on the story of The Lottery. So please read on and see if you can follow along with my observations.

This short story starts off innocently enough but the end result is murder. Not only murder but an acceptable murder. From what I have garnered about the author, Shirley Jackson is that she led a troubled life full of mental illnesses. To me it is sad that Miss Jackson had had such a troubling life to begin with that she can bring this story into existence. But then after considering it for some time it occurred to me it is like another part of my own life experience that makes me want to tell you about and I think you will find unique.

In the story it tells of a lottery and we assume that means a monetary lottery as we are so used to today, but we find out it is anything but that. It is about death and the way things are and traditions followed by men. Religion is much like this short story, as in religion they follow traditions passed down by many generations. A quick summation of traditions and following them does not make that tradition accurate. Just because we have always done a certain thing the same way does not make it right or truthful as in the story here. A thing done because it was always done that way is no more truth then 1 plus 1 equals 3.

The people in the story followed a tradition that was always done even though some parts were missing and lost it mattered not to them. The tradition became truth and the real truth was lost. Even all the way to murder was followed because that was the tradition they followed, nothing else mattered. We as people need to be able to ask and search out what is truth and what is not truth. Now I am not going to tell you what truth is, I can but that is not the purpose of this article. The greater good is that you need to ask and to be able to question and get honest answers and not the made up traditional words that are always said.

Maybe you can tell I grew up being taught to always do the right thing and this premise has served me well over the years. One thing about this is that you must try to think of what is the right thing to do in a given situation. We have to determine just what are values are. Without values then I guess murder may be ok. But in the story the woman stoned in the end was a mans wife. Now the man has to go throughout the rest of his life without his wife. Really? That is sick isn't it? I mean if you think about it we are born and we grow and then we become of age and most of us find a mate to share our lives with and then one day a lottery is drawn and she is stoned to death. You know death means she is gone and never coming back ever again. Not good for sure as we all know. So how is this tradition a good thing? I say it is not of course. I mean you get married and all of your hopes and dreams of a happy life are tied to this person and then one day due to tradition you stone her and she dies and is no more, that is just insanity I think. So I ask you and I think the story is asking, are the traditions you are following good ones? Have you taken the time to determine if they do harm or good? Maybe this is what is being asked in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Summary