StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Name Instructor Class July 27, 2011 Conservatism in Jackson's The Lottery Conservatism protects traditions and believes in natural and permanent human predispositions. The cultural artifact that will be analyzed for this essay is Shirley Jackson's short story, The Lottery…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.8% of users find it useful
Conservatism in Jacksons the Lottery
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery"

Download file to see previous pages

Conservatism stresses that human nature is “unchanging” or “fixed” and has “natural dispositions” (Loptson 93). The Lottery shows the resistance of people to changes, even when their traditions lead to violence and suffering of certain unfortunate, arbitrary individuals. The town performs the lottery with such regularity that it is treated like any other day. For instance, during the lottery, “the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes” (Jackson).

These actions reflect an ordinary day for them. But The Lottery later on reveals the capacity for evil that conservatism can uphold. Apparently, the lottery involves the ancient tradition of choosing a person to stone each year, because of the belief that it will bring prosperity to the town. Old Man Warner says: “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson). What is further troubling about this ritual is that no one dares to challenge it. Mrs. Adams suggests that “some places have already quit lotteries,” but Old Man Werner stresses that this would be an outrage since “there's always been a lottery” (Jackson).

The idea of natural dispositions for conservatism dwell on the evils of humanity. In this town, even children participate in the violent act. Women, men, and children alike stone Mrs. Hutchinson without thinking about the morality of their actions. This story emphasizes the natural evil in people, especially when they are firmly bound to authoritative rituals and beliefs. Freedom from traditions is unheard of for conservatism. The only freedom possible is the freedom to pursue one's individual or group or community goals.

While some towns have given up the lottery, this particular town insists on preserving the “institutionalized way of life” (Vincent 58). Conservatism believes in the permanence of the “existing” social order (Vincent 58). The townspeople cherish traditions so dearly that their old black box cannot even be changed, even when it is already severely degraded: “.but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box” (Jackson). These people are imprisoned by their idea that their freedom is linked to the preservation of their ancient beliefs and rituals.

Though they welcomed some changes, such as removing the use of wooden chips and the “tuneless chant” (Jackson), the people generally accept the lottery as a vital part of their everyday lives. They are free to pursue other roles in the community and family life, but never free to change rituals and breach the norms of their lives. Conservatism entails the vision of a good life that is paradoxically materialistic and moralistic. It is materialistic, because of the focus on fundamental needs.

Gender roles are pronounced, where men are concerned with “planting and rain, tractors and taxes,” while women spend time for “gossip” (Jackson). Mrs. Hutchinson almost forgets the lottery, because she is busy doing the dishes. These people are preoccupied with their material needs and concerns. A conservative life is also moralistic, but not in the genuinely moral sense. Instead, what is moralized is done

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1429728-term-paper
(Conservatism in Jackson'S the Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
https://studentshare.org/history/1429728-term-paper.
“Conservatism in Jackson'S the Lottery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1429728-term-paper.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Conservatism in Jackson's the Lottery

The Lottery

the lottery” is the story of a town that holds an important lottery every June 7th.... date that is very special to the people in the town because it coincides with their crop season and unless the lottery ritual happens every year,the townsfolk feared that they would have a very bad crop season for the year.... hellip; That is the main reason why the lottery happens every year although not everyone truly looks forward to it.... That is the main reason why the lottery happens every year although not everyone truly looks forward to it....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

The Arkansas State Lottery

As Arkansas remains among the eight (8) states1 in America that has no lottery system in place (Carter), the proposal emphasized that the lottery would be able to enhance available funding used to create 4-year scholarships for Arkansan students across different academic levels.... hellip; It was estimated that the lottery could generate over $100 million worth of funds annually for college scholarships in public and privately-accredited higher institutions2....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

The Time Surrounding The Lottery

It can be seen in how the various female characters in the story are critical of the tradition of the lottery.... ?? (Feminism) Even though Feminism didn't really exist until the 1960s, there seem to be very strong elements of it in “the lottery” with female characters like Mrs....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Role of Family in the Yellow Wallpaper

Though family and family life play a crucial role in human life, Charlotte Gilman, in her story “The Yellow Wallpaper” is preoccupied with the negative consequences of family considering it as a suppressive system to suffocate the sustainable and healthy psychology of a… In the same manner, Sylvia Plath, Shirley Jackson, Robert Hayden, Nicolas Cage and Flannery O' Connor in their literary pieces, “Daddy”, “lottery”, “Those Winter Days”, “Family Man” and “A Good Man is hard to Find” uphold Among these authors, Nicolas Cage has tried to uphold the positive sides of a family in his film “Family Men”....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

A Study of Two American Indian Societies

The paper "A Study of Two American Indian Societies" describes the two societies, their common characteristics, and differences as well.... The study focuses on the societies of Western Shoshone (or Shoshoni) and the Apalachee: both Native American.... hellip; Hunter-gatherer societies are usually mobile or nomadic, being dependent on their natural environment to provide sufficient resources in order to sustain themselves....
13 Pages (3250 words) Term Paper

Michael Jackson's Success

This paper "Michael jackson's Success" discusses Michael jackson's traits that have been to continually remain in the center of controversy.... hellip; Michael jackson's scripted success with his unique genre of pop accompanied by extraordinary dance performances, while continually providing grist for the gossip mills with his penchant for courting success and controversies in equal measure.... One of Michael jackson's traits has been to continually remain in the centre of controversy....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRAL

In the paper “Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRIAL” in order to implement and integrate Improvement Opportunity Action Plan for Eco-TRIAL, the author would include extensive detail in my Communication Strategy.... Stakeholders will be consulted and views form the part of the improvement plan....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

Analysis of Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Kafka`s The Metamorphosis

This paper "Analysis of Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Kafka's The Metamorphosis" discusses the short story by Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” as a good example of a structurally right text, as well as Kafka's story that is another good example how the structure of the text can influence its perception....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us