The Lottery, a short story written by Shirley Jackson, is a tale of disturbing evilness. The setting is a small village on a clear summer day. The village consists of about 300 residents. On June 27th of every year, the members of the community hold a village-wide lottery in which everyone is expected to participate. At first, the reader might think that this is a great idea, not knowing what the “prize” at the conclusion of this lottery is. But as the story progressed, the reader begins to get an odd feeling about the residents. Although they are gathering for a lottery drawing, there is an air of nervousness about the event. From start to finish, there is an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen. This is due to the use of foreshadowing the author uses in the story.
In the beginning of the story, Jackson describes the lottery event as an expected tradition that occurs every year on the assigned date. After reading only the opening paragraph, the reader can gather that it is not a “normal” lottery taking place. “In some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours…” This sentence alone should grab the reader’s attention because of the way it is worded. It is not directly saying that something dangerous or evil is going to occur but only hints that this is not the typical, run-of-the mill lottery. If it were a typical lottery, then the joy of winning such a great prize would be celebrated for more than the two hours these villagers were expecting.
The Essay on The Lottery And Harrison Bergeron
People have been participating in governing their countries either directly or indirectly since a sort of politics came into being. A small number of people can monopolize authority and abuse it for the sake of their own benefits unless masses of people take part in governing their countries. Therefore, their participation plays very crucial roles in their societies. By not taking their political ...
The actual suspicion begins in the second paragraph of the story. After Jackson describes the summer morning, she alludes to the children gathering in the Village Square, but they are acting quite odd. “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example…eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys”. The first question that pops of in the reader’s mind is why are these boys piling stones up in the village square? This clue, along with the first clue of the event lasting only two hours, starts pointing at something disturbing though it is not yet conclusive to this point in the story. The stones, however, will play an important role in the final outcome.
Directly after this illustration, Jackson includes a paragraph describing the town’s men and women as they gather in the square. The villagers, all three hundred of them, gather in the square. There is a feeling of excitement and relative normalcy as the people talk of their everyday happenings. Her depiction of them seems innocent as they laugh with each other, gossip together, and speak of planting and taxes. This is one of Jackson’s deliberate moves she plants in the story to confuse and throw the reader off into doubting their initial reaction. By describing all the innocence in the town, the thought of something suspicious going down is suddenly calmed.
As the story continues, the set up for the lottery to occur is explained, but the reader is still left on the outside looking for answers to figure out what truly is going on. At this time, tradition, one of the main themes of story emerges. In relation to this theme, Old Man Warner, symbolizes tradition. Throughout the story, he complains of the fading traditional values of the younger generation. He remarks, “Pack of crazy fools…Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them,” demonstrating his support of this lottery system simply because of tradition. He lasted through seventy-seven lotteries and could not understand the town’s lack of traditionalism.
The Essay on Black Box Lottery Summers Hutchinson
The Lottery Contains Symbols of the Holocaust Millions of people were brutally massacred in the Holocaust. Because of all the horror and brutality, the Holocaust will be remembered as one of the most notorious if not the most notorious of all crimes. It is a crime that mankind cannot forget and should not forget. As a way of remembering the Holocaust and honoring it's victims authors have been ...
When Jackson describes the black box being brought in, the box where the family names are drawn, she teases the reader with yet another clue. The black box is set in the center of the square as the villagers all watch carefully. “The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr. Summers said, ‘Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?’ there was a hesitation…” This implies that the villagers are all ill at ease and questionable of their actions at this annual event. It seems as though the event is innocent; simply something that occurs every year on June 27th, but suddenly uncertainty is apparent as the crowd hesitates once the black box is brought to the gathering.
The sexist theme in the story comes to light after the black box is brought out into the square. Mr. Summers asks the head of each household to come and select a slip of paper for the lottery. Usually, the head of any household is a male figure. In this story, women have limited or no economic position in the village. They usually uphold the role of housewife. This is confirmed when one of the villagers, Mr. Dunbar is not present at the event and his wife has to choose for him. However, Mr. Summers interjects and asks, “Don’t you have a grown boy to do it for you Janey?” Though Mrs. Dunbar chooses for her family in the end, Mr. Summers does not approve.
As the crowd of villagers comes up individually, after their name is called, they draw from the black box and return to their previous spots amongst the crowd. As village boy Jack Watson’s name is called out by Mr. Summers, he walks up to the box and someone from the crowd says, “Don’t be nervous, Jack.” This clue is sure to set of a siren in the reader’s mind that something unusual is going to happen on this day. This comment, along with previous clues screams danger. This comment of nervousness and looking back on the uncertain reaction about the crowd when the black box was first brought out supports this evidence.
The Essay on Tessie Hutchinson in “The Lottery”
... in the yearly lottery by drawing slips of paper from a traditional black box. Everyone, including Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson, awaits this ... husband drew the paper with the black dot, “Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, `you didn’t give him time ... the citizens gather for a yearly lottery. The story begins on a beautiful summer afternoon. The town’s citizens are eager, ...
The latter part of the story revolves mainly around one character, Mrs. Hutchinson. In the beginning of the story, before the drawing of the lottery took place, Mrs. Hutchinson, was one of the last to arrive to the grounds where the ceremony was taking place. While talking to another village woman, she said “clean forgot what day it was.” This gives the impression that this was an important event on the village social calendar. When Mr. Summers calls out the name Hutchinson, she pushes her husband up to get the slip. It seems that she is anxious of what the outcome of this event will be. When the Hutchinsons realize that they are the ones picked, Mrs. Hutchinson (Tessie) criticizes Mr. Summers for giving her husband the paper that he did not want. The final step in the lottery process is for each member of the Hutchinson family to draw a slip to see who “wins.”
In the end, Tessie Hutchinson, a woman, ends up drawing the “winning” slip. Since women had no economic position in the village, it was apparent that a woman would end up winning. The black spot on the slip and the black box both represent death, which the reader comes to know, is the “prize.” Compliance and sacrifice also play a crucial role in the end of the story. According to the villagers, human sacrifice was essential for their existence. Early on, Old Man Warner, puts it “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” His eerie statement implies that human sacrifice would prove a bountiful harvest. The theme of compliance is relevant in the story so much so that the annual event of the lottery was never questioned but followed through each and every year. This theme of complicity is also significant as little Davy Hutchinson, Tessie’s youngest son, takes part in stoning his mother to death.
After reading The Lottery, it is evident that something very strange and evil is going on in the village. Shirley Jackson’s use of various themes keeps the reader’s interest till the end of the story. Her intent for writing such a story is for reader’s to delve into the minds of people and bring out their darker side. In essence, The Lottery is a reflection into the apparently subconscious human corruption, wickedness and evilness that people seemingly possess.
The Essay on Mrs Hutchinson Story Lottery Reader
... the climax of irony of this story. Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen for the lottery. She is shocked and astounded, ... led through the outwardly normal and charming little village, and is taken on a ride of ironic ... imagination. This is ironic because a newly widowed woman should be grieving the loss of her dead ... of the "slips of paper." As soon as they hold the second drawing, Mrs. Hutchinson is chosen. This ...
