In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, what rituals are associated with the lottery? Do you have a clear sense of how they developed?

In the story, there are a number of rituals associated with the lottery. The lottery is held annually, for example, and all of the families in the town must take part. In addition, the man who oversees the lottery, Mr. Summers, must be officially "sworn in" before the draw can take place. Once this has happened, Mr. Summers draws the paper slips from a black box, as tradition dictates.

The reader does not have a...

In the story, there are a number of rituals associated with the lottery. The lottery is held annually, for example, and all of the families in the town must take part. In addition, the man who oversees the lottery, Mr. Summers, must be officially "sworn in" before the draw can take place. Once this has happened, Mr. Summers draws the paper slips from a black box, as tradition dictates.

The reader does not have a clear sense of how these traditions have developed, however, because much of the "original paraphernalia" of the lottery has been lost and many of the original traditions "forgotten" or "discarded." The paper slips, for example, were introduced by Mr. Summers because they fit better into the black box than the original wooden chips. Even the black box itself is not the original one: some people think that it was constructed using pieces of the original box, though nobody can be certain. 

By presenting the lottery and its traditions in this manner, Jackson satirises small-town events and implies that they are based on little more than outdated beliefs and superstitions.