In the 33rd paragraph, Old Man Warner gave a saying about the lottery, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” This adage is an example of how superstition works; an explanation is not always necessary to reason why an event causes good or bad things to happen, sometimes it just occurs. One can also describe this adage as an assumption, not once did Old Man Warner push to understand how the execution benefited their crops. Mr. Warner accepted what was passed onto him as a child and dogmatically adhered to it.
At times the community recognized certain parts of the ritual being unnecessary. In the 6th paragraph the community discontinued a tradition, “Chips of wood, had been all very well… but now that the population was more than three hundred… it was necessary to use something that would fit more easily into the black box.” This action of eradicating useless traditions is done through the questioning of assumptions. The community saw that this part of the lottery did not add to the final product, rather it inhibited it the speed of it. In this instance the community succeeded by questioning old practices which in turn made the community more efficient when it came to achieving their goals. Unfortunately they refused to go further by questioning whether or not the ritual as a whole is necessary for successful living.
For as long as the community could remember, they have had the lottery embedded into their life. The purpose of the lottery isn’t clearly stated, although at one point Old Man Warner hints that it is done as a fertility rite. For whatever reason the community practices the lottery, it is evident of its negative effect on the community. The physical toll it has is detrimental. Deleting a member at random suggests that a member of the society could bring about great good and be killed before they have the chance to fulfill their purpose. All the future actions of those selected to die are no longer a possibility; that person could have been destined to bring about wonderful change in the world but they lost their chance when they drew the black spot.
Everyone makes assumptions. Whether it assuming someone’s sexuality or that your roommate is extremely rude. Unfortunately sometimes it takes someone else to inform us that those assumptions are actually wrong. By simply asking questions you might hear “that guy is not homosexual, he just had a lung infection as a child so he talks funny” or “your roommate’s culture is a very coarse and cynical one, they just don’t show affection to each other, that’s why he treats you so coldly”. Furthering one’s understanding of either situation instead of making an assumption can solve both of these situations. “The Lottery” is similar to the previous two situations, because of the adage given by Old Man Warner, the useless traditions they eradicated, and the ineffectiveness of the ritual. If the community had questioned the assumption they made about the tradition that was passed onto them the community would be a much happier folk because they would have eventually stumbled upon the truth; that success is not predicated upon arbitrary sacrifices.