The Lottery Why is tradition held so dear in the hearts of the human race? Is it the meaning of that specific ritual, or is it the comfort of participating in that activity to make them feel as though change does not have to occur? Maybe people have issues with change. Can the threat of change cause people to do things that normally they would object to? In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", it is apparent …showed first 75 words of 770 total…

…showed last 75 words of 770 total…did not occur. Shirley Jackson is trying to get the reader to think about society and how people can go so far as to take another person's life just because they do not want to change. Jackson's intent was to make the readers ponder on their own attitudes towards change and tradition to help the readers keep an open mind towards change, and maybe even to stop the possibility of a similar situation from occurring.