Simmons 1

Geth Simmons
Mr. Thompson
English 1302.12
5 October, 2016

Necessary Murder
What if, in order to be successful, you must take a human life? By modern norms and
values, taking a human life is considered murder and is one of, if not the worst, crimes you can
commit. We as societies adopt our norms, values and beliefs through history and tradition. By
following tradition and learning from history we develop our culture, ways of doing things and
how to learn from what our previous people have went through. Just like as an individual grows
older, they become wiser, as a society progresses, we become more efficient and develop certain
ways of doing things. So I ask again, what if our history and traditions created a belief that in
order to be as successful as possible, it was necessary to take a human life? In the short story we
are reading, The Lotteryby Shirley Jackson, to continue being efficient as a community
according to their culture, they must follow their societys history, tradition and beliefs and do
what in modern day would be punishable by death or imprisonment, to maintain their composure
and to continue growing as a society.
The common belief in a society is very critical to the decisions made by the whole of the
society. Many times throughout history, decisions have been made to take a human life because it
was perceived as a "sacrifice for the greater good". We all know the story in the Bible where

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Jesus "gave his life as a ransom for the many", (New International Version, Mark 10:45). The
people in the story are obviously not being forced and they make no objection so therefore, they
must all agree that this "sacrifice" is for the betterment of the community. In this certain
situation, the adults have become accustomed to it like its a normal thing and the children are
taught early that this is a necessary practice that they must participate in (Jackson 254). This is
because this act has been practiced long before any of the villagers were even born. Old Man
Warner, the oldest man in town, cannot even recall when or how the Lottery was introduced
(Jackson 255). This has created their belief that this is for the good of the society as a whole
through their knowledge of history and tradition. Take for example, in the tribe of the Sudanese
Latuka in order to marry a woman the man must kidnap her (Austin). But our beliefs are
different compared to those of the community in the story and of the Sudanese. If this were to
happen in our time, there would be an uproar and it would most likely end in imprisonment. This
is because throughout our history, it was never necessary to take a human life or kidnap a woman
for marriage. But, because of the societys beliefs, these are things that must be done in order to
proceed and progress as a community. These beliefs are brought on by history and tradition.
As stated, history is what brings about these beliefs. History can be used in many ways
and there is a reason that it is still required to be taught in all schools to this day. We as
Americans use history to learn about how we as a country came to the point that we currently
reside at. Also, we use history to learn from mistakes and use that knowledge in order to
progress, such as war events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the very tragic bombing in
Pearl Harbor, we as Americans realized that our war intelligence was inadequate. Thus, the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was created (Korb). In The Lottery they use their
knowledge of history to continue doing what they have shown works. As stated in the story by

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Old Man Warner, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon", the crops come after the Lottery and are
believed to be dependent on the Lottery (Jackson 257). He believes this along with everyone
else, because of the history as a community and certain events in history that might have
occurred to lead them to believe this from generation to generation. As far as this community
goes, history has taught them what works, and to them that is the lottery. Therefore, they have
followed history and continue to accept this behavior because they truly believe that in order to
grow crops and be successful, they must follow in their ancestors footsteps.
In addition to that, history has also allowed them to create a sort of tradition as a
community. "What makes something a tradition is that it is handed down from one generation to
the next," (Rockwell). In the story it tells of each age group and how they all participate in the
Lottery. I believe the reason for this is to show the reader that this indeed is a tradition. The
children have become or are becoming accustomed to it, even "stuffing their pockets full of
stones" (Jackson 254). At one point in the story they bring up how one boy is just shy of being of
age to take part in the Lottery (Jackson 256). This tells the reader that at a certain point he will be
entered into the drawing just as everyone else will. Also, the author explains how the children are
stacking their rocks and preparing to give the chosen one a proper death by stoning (Jackson
254). In todays time, this would be looked at horrible and monstrous and sickening by many. On
the contrary, to them it is their tradition and they will continue to follow it. They are being taught
at a young age that this ritual is very necessary for them as a whole. The children will grow up to
enter in the drawing and their children after that. This tradition is very important to them because
if they didnt do it, they would be considered fools by many as stated by Old Man Warner and
would be the outcast of the group (Jackson 257). As you may know, traditions are very important

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for a society to function, like Tevye stated, "Without tradition, our lives would be as shaky as a
fiddler on a roof" ("Tevye", Fiddler on a Roof).
We see that through the societys beliefs, history and tradition that it is necessary to
support this ritual. We as a society might see this from a different point of view, but why may
you ask? It is because of what we know and have been taught and what we will continue to teach
to our children and their children and so on. No one way is right and many communities today
still have odd practices that we may find taboo and or highly frowned upon. But these cultures
thrive on their traditions and beliefs and what they know as their history. Without these practices
these individuals would be no different from anyone else.

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Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. The Lottery and Other Stories. New York: Farrar, 1991.
254-259.
Fiddler on the Roof. Directed by Norman Jewison, performances by Tevye. Mirisch
Company, 1971.
The Bible. New International Version. Biblica, 1978.
Rockwell, Donna. The Importance of Tradition. PsychAlive.
http://www.psychalive.org/importance-tradition/.
Austin, Julia. 16 Fascinating African Tribal Rituals. Afkininsider, 22 April 2015,
http://afkinsider.com/35797/16-fascinating-african-tribal-traditions/2/.
Korb, Lawrence. What lessons can we learn today from Pearl Harbor attack?.
Reporternews. 7 Dec. 2015, http://www.reporternews.com/news/What-can-welearn-today-from-Pearl-Harbor-360792471.html.

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Outline
1. Introduction
a. Hook question
b. Introductory statement
c. Thesis statement: In the short story we are reading, The Lotteryby
Shirley Jackson, in order to continue being efficient as a community
according to their culture, they must follow their societys history,
tradition and beliefs and do what in modern day would be punishable by
death or imprisonment, to maintain their composure and to continue
2.

3.

4.

5.

growing as a society.
First supporting paragraph
a. Give examples of importance of belief in history.
b. Give examples of belief in the story
c. Explain why these beliefs are important
Second supporting paragraph
a. Explain why history is important
b. Explain and give examples of how we use history
c. Explain how history affects the society in the story
Third supporting paragraph
a. Explain tradition
b. Give examples of tradition in the story
c. Explain how tradition affects the groups actions
Conclusion
a. Restate thesis
b. Tie together and conclude previous statements
c. End with statement on why claim is necessary