The lottery seems to be a very complicated story, and one must read at least twice too fully comprehend. The first time I read this story, I did not have a clue of what the story was all about. It was like everything was running as usual in the small town but at the end of the story family and friends die because of the lottery (Jackson, 2008). I found the story weird because it did not get to the bottom line of issues. But as I read the story a second time I began to understand it. I have discovered various themes in the story as well as logical fallacies which I have discussed in this paper. A fallacy is a force notion, argument or statement based on invalid belief, incorrect reasoning and some time it may include being deceptive. This story stands out to be one of the most anthologized works in literature. The story has many elements which include, dialogue, narration, character, theme, irony, and foreshadowing. It also offers ideas that mostly inspire students at the college level.
Shirley Jackson uses a unique tone to illustrate the theme of the story dramatically. In the story the lottery, villagers gather for the lottery at the central square, waiting for Mr. Summer and his black box. The black box contains folded slips of papers, where one of the pieces has a black dot on it. Each villager takes a piece of paper from the box and the person who takes the piece of paper with a black dot wins. This story demonstrates how human being s blindly accept traditions this is evident when the town people fail to question traditions. It is also apparent when Old Man Warner’ condemns those who do not conform to it. People who do not follow traditions blindly are seen to be very much condemned in the story. This is evident when Mr. Adams tells of how a nearby village wanted to get rid of the lottery. Old Man Warner criticizes this young person who does not conform to traditions he also believes that when people reject traditions, they will make the town go back to living in the cave. This response is very much defensive and contains a lot of logical fallacies. He further argues that traditions will always seek to condemn and get rid of those people who do not conform to it without a fair hearing. People value philosophies, but it seems like Old Man Warner values traditions. Therefore it seems like when people reject traditions, traditionalist ends up feeling rejected. The differences between traditionalists and non-conformists changes to be an argument between persons.
A fallacy is also evident when Bill Hutcherson is chosen. Bill Hutcherson has no problem with the system before he is chosen. But after he is chosen, he develops issues with the system. One of the fallacies that appeared throughout the story concerns bandwagon. The lottery system was not of much importance, and again it was fierce, just because it was something they were used to, they did not figure it out that ways because they were all bandwagons (Jackson, 2008).
Lastly is that appeal to traditions is a common thing in the society. People find it easier to stay with cultures that are older rather than coming up with new ideas (Jackson, 2008). Therefore appeal for traditions can be referred to as a fallacy and it is observed when traditions are not challenged. On the other hand, one cannot verify whether an idea is good by just looking at its age. Situations, where people Ignore tradition, has been addressed by many works of literature.
References
Jackson, S. (2008). The lottery. Mankato, MN: Creative Education.
