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What were the tools used for the lottery in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

The two primary tools used in the lottery are the stones and the black box. Add the pencil and paper and this is the extent of tools used in the lottery. Therefore, the most technologically advanced tool used is the pencil or pen used to write the names down; the stones are as archaic and/or rudimentary as it gets. So, we have writing—one of the most important technological developments in human history—and stones, perhaps the...

The two primary tools used in the lottery are the stones and the black box. Add the pencil and paper and this is the extent of tools used in the lottery. Therefore, the most technologically advanced tool used is the pencil or pen used to write the names down; the stones are as archaic and/or rudimentary as it gets. So, we have writing—one of the most important technological developments in human history—and stones, perhaps the most primitive weapon ever used. This dichotomy encapsulates the dilemma of this society. It is a town with (relatively) modern capabilities (represented by writing) but it is a town stubbornly rooted in the past (represented by the stones). 


The black box itself is also a tool. Although the box is weathered, the general consensus is that the village should not replace the box.



Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here. 



So, the box is treated like a sacred object. Note that while the townspeople generally agree that the box should not be harmed, they have no trouble continuing their tradition of ritual killing. The townspeople gives the box more value than human life. These tools are idols, revered more for their connection to this barbaric ritual than they would be revered for their practical purposes in improving things. In other words, the tools are used to continue an old, barbaric ritual. Instead, they could be used to create new things, instill more knowledge, and thus lead to more progressive, humane thinking. 

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