The events of “The Lottery” border on the absurd. Nonetheless, the story calls for interpretation on many levels. Shirley Jackson has skillfully used elements of several ancient rituals to create a narrative that addresses the character of the ritual itself and the devastating effects of crowd psychology. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay “The Lottery” – Summary EssayAt the heart of the story is one of humanity’s oldest concepts: the notion of the scapegoat. Ancient civilizations often held a ceremony in which the ills of an entire society were symbolically transferred to a member of the group, human or animal, and that member was killed or banished. This death or banishment suggested that the evils of the past had been expunged, allowing for a brighter future for the group. The Jewish people of Old Testament times carried out the ritual by designating a goat as the recipient of all sin and evil, then sending it back into the desert; thus, in Western literature, the term "scapegoat" has been widely adopted to refer to this sacrificial victim. The direct tone of the story helps show how any tradition can be dangerous and hurt a person in different ways. In the short story, Jackson's tradition can be harmful to many people. The tradition that this small town had practiced for over 70 years was an annual stoning every June 27. This tradition of stoning harmed the mental health of prey by killing them and predators by knowing they had to murder a friend or neighbor, but they still continued this senseless tradition, some were even proud to have been part of this tradition that they call the lottery. The lottery victim that year was Tessie Hutchinson. Once they found out it was her, she started going crazy and kept yelling that it wasn't fair. This shows how this small town tradition was harming her mental health by causing her to lose moments before her death after "a stone hit her in the side of the head." Tessie Hutchinson is her town's scapegoat in the year "The Lottery" takes place; the implication in the story is that the lottery is an annual event. In this town, scapegoating is used to banish the ills of society so that crops prosper. Thus, two ancient rituals are combined: the notion of banishing evil via a sacrificial victim, and the idea of ​​appeasing higher powers in one way or another to ensure the fertility of the earth. Fertility rituals also usually involve some sort of sacrifice. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay The townspeople are so caught up in the ritual that they have given up all sense of logic. Crowd psychology governs their actions. Although they appear to be sane and sensible individuals, when it comes time for the lottery, they abandon their rational nature and revert to herd instincts. This psychological phenomenon is characteristic of humans throughout history. Although Jackson presents it in its extreme form in this story, the idea that men and women in groups are willing to abdicate personal responsibilities and act with great cruelty toward others is evidenced in actions such as lynchings, racial confrontations and similar incidents. The willingness of people to act irrationally as.