The lottery had so much symbolism. The lottery consisted of choosing a piece of white paper with a black dot on it and if you got that paper, you were the “sacrificial lamb for that year.” Old Man Warner enforced the tradition because he feared that if they changed the tradition things would go bad. He also warned many people not to change the old tradition, because then people would not do anything as they would now. Maybe next time the villagers will talk to their friends or family, maybe even to the townspeople about the tradition that takes place every year on June 27 of each summer, so that they get an idea of what happens when the day comes.