I don't think it was an attack on all tradition, though. I think that it was an attack on traditions that we follow blindly, with a refusal to see their harm. Sure, lots of traditions are silly and pointless, but in and of themselves, traditions aren't necessarily dangerous. The danger is in the fear to not do exactly what the tradition demands - to not criticise it, or really think about it.

I've always felt that The Lottery is more about the sheep mentality than tradition. Tradition just happens to showcase that particular mentality quite well. "Let's kill someone all together! Let's not protest the idea! Let's get caught up in how cool it is to kill someone and completely miss the point that we're killing someone, cuz everyone else is doing it too!"

(My apologies for having to delete the unsigned comment.)

- Becker, Slytherin