The Lottery - for EB Laut: The Story of a Town, Some Rocks, and a Box

#6. In "The Lottery", the entire idea of choosing one person as a scapegoat for the entire town at random is an old fashioned, primitive ritual. As it is set in modern times, there is an implication that human society as a rule, does not like to give up the past. Since this custom has been set in place and long since upheld, it is culturally acceptable for it to be continued. As humans, we often times fear getting rid of the old, for consequence of the new. Human nature has a tendency to revert to instinct even over all else that has been learned, because this is what we are comfortable with. As this ritual is so well known, it is what the people are most comfortable with. In not knowing what the future may bring, they fear giving up the ritual. In this, the story reveals one of many flaws in human nature: the inability to let go of the outdated and potentially threatening past.