In a society that should be advanced enough to reject the concept of sacrifice to pagan gods in the hope of a favorable harvest, this Vermont village chooses to engage in this practice. “There used to be a saying about 'June lottery, corn will be heavy soon'” (Jackson 3). Old Man Warner scoffs at the idea of ​​discarding the lottery, saying that doing so would be a return to uncivilized times: “Next thing you know, they'll want to go back to living in caves” (Jackson 3). This is another ironic statement, as the lottery tradition is clearly outdated and makes no sense; advances in science and technology – even pure rationality, it seems – can confirm that participating in the lottery will not affect the harvest in any way. Once again, Jackson emphasizes the need to abandon the lottery tradition, being incongruous with the modern age. This allusion to pagan sacrifices also suggests that the villagers consider the lottery normal, even necessary, since it is ritualized. For the villagers, the annual stoning is a civic institution, a sanitized sacrifice; they fail to see the lottery for what it truly is: senseless