Comfornity

1. Conformity plays a huge role in this story. The people in the village blindly follow the customs of the ritual, for the most part, without question. The black box that is used to draw the names is literally falling apart, but when asked if it should be replaced, the people never get around to it. It is what has always been used, and the villagers do not feel they should change it.

The children are so conditioned to the normalcy of the tradition, that they are able to continue their games while the ritual stoning is being carried out.Mr. Graves and Joe Summers are the main leaders in keeping this tradition alive, and never question the validity or humanity of the ritual.

Mr. Adams seems to question the practice, when he mentions that some villages are proposing stopping the lottery. Mrs. Adams asserts that some villages already have. But it is Tessie, who is the symbol of rebellion.

Tessie is late to the lottery, and tells them she forgot the day. She then protests the way the drawing s are held, stating that is is unfair that she , or any wife, must draw with her husband's family.

When she is the unlucky "winner", her husband is not sympathetic, and as the stoning is carried out, Tessie asserts her rebellious cry, "It isn't fair, it isn't right".

Tessie was correct; the lottery wasn't fair. Death wasn't fair, especially if you were the sacrificial lamb for the sake of tradition."Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon," took many innocent lives each year since the first settlers. Unfortunately, the Hutchinson family was facing this dilemma. They knew that one of their members would be sacrificed by the villagers for harvest. Sadly Tessie was stoned to death. The lottery was a primitive tradition that many of its rituals were forgotten. These rituals were discarded by the mass population. The mind set of the villagers was changing but not enough to upset tradition of the lottery.The lottery wasn't fair but it was conducted fairly. It was held on the same date annually since the beginning. The formalities had slightly altered but procedured remained standard. Everyone in the village took the same chance. Tessie finally saw the unfairness of the lottery because death was knocking at the door. She saw it through desperate eyes.