What’s creative, disturbing, and full of morals?  That’s right:  The Lottery.   Shirley Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1954.  It became so popular, several films have been made in attempt to display its interesting themes and plot.  The short story, The Lottery, demonstrates many important messages, including: people don’t always understand a situation until they are put in the situation themselves, children are influenced by their parents, and traditions can grow to be outdated. 
First of all, traditions can grow to be outdated.  People, places, and beliefs, are constantly changing around us.   Due to all these changes, it’s no surprise that customs can change too.   Throughout the story, the narrator frequently mentions that the lottery has been going on for a very long time: “The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born”. 
This quote shows that the tradition of the lottery is so old, not even the oldest person in the town can even remember how to perform it correctly.  If the town can’t even remember how the tradition originated, should they even be doing the lotteries?  Furthermore, while the story never says exactly why the town does lotteries, the story hints that it is supposed to aid in the growth of crops.   According to Old Man Warner,  “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”.  As a response to this superstition, Mrs. Adams responds by saying that other towns had already stopped doing lotteries.  If other towns were really getting rid of lotteries, maybe the characters in the story were beginning to evolve and change their views. 
Next, children are greatly influenced by their parents.  Often times, children will repeat actions that they see or hear others do. The children in the story seem to reflect their parent’s behavior towards the lottery.  For instance, the men of the village discussed farming, rain, and taxes while they waited for the lottery to get set up, and the women gossiped. They didn’t even act the slightest bit appalled as they stoned Mrs. Hutchinson to death.  As for the children, they played together, just as they would have done any other day.  When it came time to sacrifice the lottery “winner”, the kids were right alongside their parents.  The children are only fine with the lottery because their parents have taught them to be accept it.  On the other hand, the parents only accept the lottery because their parents taught them to be fine with it.  Generation after generation, the lottery has continued, because nobody had broke the cycle by deciding that human sacrifice was terrible.  Sometimes, children need to explore their own beliefs, not just their parents. 
Lastly, people don’t always understand a situation until they are put into the situation themselves.  In the beginning of the story, Tessie was making jokes about doing the dishes and was acting totally normal.  She was all for the lottery.  However, when her husband drew the black dot, she instantly changed her mind, and began to view the lottery as an awful thing.  Throughout the story, the characters see nothing wrong with the lottery.   The fact that they are literally committing murder doesn’t even phase them, because they don’t view it as a murder.  Even Mrs. Hutchinson was fine with the lottery, up until she won.  This just goes to show, that sometimes, you need to ‘walk in the other person’s shoes’ to be able to fully understand them and their situation.  If the townspeople attempted to envision what it would be like to ‘win’ the lottery, maybe the lottery would have been done away with a long time ago.
In conclusion, there are many morals included in the short story, The Lottery, including, customs can become outdated, parents influence their children, and it’s hard to understand a situation unless you’ve been in it.  The Lottery is full of important morals and messages, and can teach readers umpteen many things.  Even many years later, Shirley Jackson’s story continues to be immensely popular.