The lottery has changed very little since it started.

Tradition is important in the village where the story takes place.  In fact, it is so important that no one ever wants to make any changes of any kind.  They do not even want to change the box or the stool that are used for the lottery.  They only replaced the black box when it was falling apart, and that was with pieces of the other box.  The stool has three legs.

Some minor changes have happened over the course of the years in this particular village.  Since they know everyone in the town and everything happens the same way every time, they have gradually done away with some of the formality.

There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery … but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse.

The town dispenses with the chant and the ritual salute.  They used to have a formal greeting to each person as they approached, but since the town has only three hundred people it no longer seems necessary. During the ceremony, things proceed in much the way they always have because everyone is so used to it.

The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around. Then Mr. Summers raised one hand high and said, "Adams." A man disengaged himself from the crowd and came forward. "Hi. Steve." Mr. Summers said. and Mr. Adams said. "Hi. Joe." They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously.

The conversation about another village ending its lottery is a good example of how very little has changed.  The older people in the village seem to think that it is a ridiculous idea to cancel the lottery.  The lottery is tradition, and you don’t mess with tradition.  If they won’t get another box or stool, the chances of them cancelling it are pretty slim.

In Shirley Jackson's short story, how has the lottery changed over the years?

In Shirley Jackson's celebrated short story "The Lottery," the nondescript community participates in a violent, senseless ritual every June, which results in the brutal death of a random innocent civilian. Despite the meaningless nature of the lottery, the community continues to participate in the annual ritual because they are committed to blindly following tradition. Although the citizens are strict adherents to tradition, a few aspects of the lottery have changed over the course of several generations. Jackson writes that the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost and the community uses a shabby black box to hold the slips of paper. Despite Mr. Summer's pleas for a new black box, the community insists on using the deteriorating old back box during the ritual.

The lottery has also changed over the years with the introduction of paper slips instead of wood chips inside the black box. Originally, the wood chips were placed in the box when the community was significantly smaller. However, the community continued to grow and had to use slips of paper, which would fit much easier into the black box. The community also stopped swearing-in Mr. Summers before the lottery and the official no longer performs the tuneless chant to begin the ritual. Mr. Summers no longer performs the ritual salute when each citizen draws from the box, which used to be part of the traditional ceremony.

In addition to the minor changes, the citizens no longer listen to Mr. Summers explain the rules of the lottery because they are so familiar with them. Despite the changes over several generations, the citizens remember to use stones to brutally murder the unlucky citizen who draws the black spot. The primary message of Jackson's short story concerns the dangers of blindly following tradition and Tessie Hutchinson becomes the unfortunate scapegoat when she draws the black spot.

In Shirley Jackson's short story, how has the lottery changed over the years?

Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery includes a number of passages that suggest changes in how the ritual has been carried out over the years. How long, exactly, this barbaric practice had been around is uncertain, but the town’s oldest citizen, Old Man Warner, at one point alludes to this being the 77th time he has participated, obviously indicating that the lottery is at least that old. Over time, Jackson’s narrator notes, certain aspects of the lottery changed or evolved. The first such change mentioned involved the black box inside of which are the slips of paper. As the narrator notes, “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.” So, we know from this sentence that the black box has been in use for many decades, and the narrator mentions the lottery’s administrator, Mr. Summers, had suggested replacing the black box with a newer one, only to find resistance from those protective of the ritual’s traditions. Jackson’s narrative does note, however, that the black box “grew shabbier each year,” and that, “by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side . . .”

Another change implemented over time with how the lottery is conducted involved the aforementioned slips of paper. Originally, the narrator states, chips of wood “had been used for generation.” These wood chips, however, became increasingly inadequate as the town’s population grew—another way the ritual had changed over time: more people involved as the town’s population expanded. The wood chips were too bulky for the black box, so the slips of paper were substituted.

As Jackson’s story progresses, more changes are noted, as in the following passage from The Lottery:

“. . .at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory. tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this p3rt of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching.”

Finally, Jackson’s narrator mentions the change in the way the population listened to Mr. Summers’ recitation of the lottery’s rules: “The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions: most of them were quiet.”

The lottery underwent a number of changes over the course of many years. Its essential purpose, however, remained intact. The lottery’s purpose is vague, but Jackson’s story has been interpreted as an indictment of mankind’s tendency to blindly follow traditions and rituals without question. It is interesting that The Lottery was published in 1948, only a few years after the end of World War II and during the revelations of the mass hysteria and its destructive consequences that were incited and exploited by Adolf Hitler. The lottery, it seems, exists solely because it always has, irrespective of function or rationale. One constant about the lottery, however, is noted by the story’s narrator:  The villagers “still remembered to use stones.”

How has the lottery evolved over time in the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

In Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," the purpose of the lottery has remained the same. The town gathers to draw lots and determine who dies. Some parts of that ritual have changed over the years, though, including the box from which the lots are drawn and the ceremony itself.

The box that is used to hold the lots people draw is not the original box. It's been used for a long time and people are reluctant to make a new one. Jackson writes:

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. 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.

The box becomes more worn with every passing year, but the town is still unwilling to accept a new one. 

The original lots drawn by the villagers were pieces of wood; now the town uses paper slips. They're made by Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves the night before the ceremony. When the town was smaller, it was possible to fit wooden chips into the box. With more than 300 people now living in the town, wood doesn't work. It won't fit. Paper is small enough that all the lots fit in the box. 

The ceremony is also a shadow of what it once was. Many of the residents are unclear on what used to happen or disagree on the details. Jackson says:

There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching.

Even though the village will accept some changes to the lottery, there's no discussion of doing away with it altogether. They aren't even sure how to conduct it the way it was done originally—but they still gather to perform the bizarre ritual every year. 

Another interesting fact about the annual tradition is that the villagers aren't sure why it began in the first place. No one left has any knowledge of why the lottery exists at all. In addition, Jackson says that "so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded." That doesn't stop them from gathering each year, drawing their lots, and stoning the loser to death. 

It's a grim scenario and there seems to be no end in sight. As Jackson writes near the end of the story, "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones."

How has the lottery evolved over time in the short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

In "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, we have reason to believe that the process for the lottery has evolved over time. In the fifth paragraph we learn that the materials used originally for the lottery were lost, and that the black box now used to house the family names is older than the oldest man in town, Mr. Warner. We also know that the first lottery took place even before that:

"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." (Jackson 1)

This tells us that the original settlers possibly brought the idea with them from wherever they had come, which is not revealed to us.

On page two, we find out that the ritual itself has changed in some ways over the years, too. Some of the citizens have memories of a recital given by the lottery official, a ritual salute, and a chant. The slips of paper with names on them had once been wooden chips.

The one thing that has not changed about the lottery is the end result. Somebody has to die.