One of the main themes in Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” however is tradition. Although tradition is commonly considered a kind of social glue that holds families and communities together, Shirley Jackson reveals a whole new side of the dangers that follow traditional practices. The lottery is normalized as an early summer ritual that consistently proves promising in a bountiful harvest, as mentioned by Old Man Warner. The true purpose of the lottery has never been fully explained, but it is still held every year with no suggestion of stopping. It shows that there is a pattern of tendency to be trapped by tradition. According to a further description by the author, the objects involved in the ritual and the specific reactions of the villagers to changing them further downplay the conventional nature of the lottery. Even though “the original lottery paraphernalia was lost long ago” (Jackson 134), citizens still use the old worn-out black box to extract slips of paper. The box is older than the oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, but no one dares discuss replacing the black box. Conjuring up a brand new box is discouraged since “no one liked to upset even the tradition represented by the black box” (Jackson 134). A brief illumination is shown as to what the box represents, motivated by the suggestion that the current box contains pieces of the original box used by the village founders. The black box is almost a symbol of tradition as “it is based on a story, it is passed down from generation to generation, it changes very slowly over time, but nevertheless it is believed to serve an important function within the community” (Michelson) .A tension is established...at the center of the card...old over tradition, even meaningless, basic tradition, reveals our need for both ritual and belonging" (Griffin 46). Works Cited Coulthard, AR "The Dark view of human nature." Bloom's Literature. Web Facts by File, Inc.. March 5, 2014 D'Ammassa, Don. ""The Lottery."" Bloom's Literature. Web Facts by File, Inc.. March 5, 2014Friedman, Lenemaja. "Reply to History." Bloom's Literature. Web Facts, Inc.. March 5, 2014Griffin, Amy A. "The Jackson Lottery." 46. ​​Print.Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, et al. Boston: Longman, 2012. 133-138. Print.Michelson, David. "Tradition in "The Lottery"." Bloom's literature. File, Inc. Web Facts. March 5, 2014Stark, Jack. ""The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Censored Books: Critical Views 1 (1993): 358. Print.