The Lottery

I think that this story definitely ends in a way that no reader truly expects. From this odd story, one can pull out many themes, but there is one theme that I found the most interesting. I found that people sometimes do things even when they don't see value in it and sometimes just do them to do them because it is familiar and comfortable. This story is an extreme case of this theme. I'm not extremely positive why they carry on with this lottery, but I think it is just because of tradition. Also, I believe that the story alludes to a reason why this lottery started. They used to do it because they believed it would help avoid a bad harvest. The lottery has been going on for at least 77 years because of Old Man Warner. Chances are that this community has evolved from dependence on agriculture. This means that the lottery just survives because it is all that the people know. It is so custom to them that the people are brainwashed and believe that this process is alright. Seriously? They give Mrs. Hutchinson's youngest son stones to throw at his mother to kill her. This is crossing the line of insanity.

This theme still applies to situations in the world today though. Wives stay with their abusing husbands because it is all they know and they become comfortable with it. I know that we talked about this when we studied "Eveline." Change is something in the world that is usually a difficult thing for everyone. I think this trend is universal and timeless. We shouldn't expect that to change anytime soon.