In the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the story starts off by introducing the villages lottery day which makes the reader think it’s a positive event. Which in irony turns out to what would be considered a disturbing and cruel tradition each year among the community. The village tradition involves a drawing among each head of the household and their family members to determine who wins the lottery each year. The drawing is completely random and everyone in the village must participate. While reading the story I was excited to see who wins the lottery because who wouldn’t want to win? Although most readers would assume that when someone wins the lottery they are being rewarded, but in this town, that is not the case. A villager winning the lottery results in death, more specifically the other villagers stone he or she to death. When I read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” I saw her point that inhumanity can exist even in those places that are considered to be safe, like a small town. This story actually represents hu- manity and the society we live in.
Humanity is not always kind, in fact humans can be brutal monsters. In this story the vil- lagers gather around and make a ceremony out of a lottery to decide who is going to be executed. I realized that it was every man for himself in this town’s situation. When Tess Hutchinson was the one who drew the paper with the heavy inked dot on it, her husband or children did not do anything to help her. They almost seemed relieved that it was not them. Jackson uses man vs. 50- ciety conflict to show the readers that society might actually accept things that some of us don’t agree too. Before Tess Hutchinson was the one who was picked, she came strolling in all happy and talkative to see who was going to “win.” To later find out that it was herself, and switch up and claim that it was not right. Although she began the story as an eager latecomer to the event, the story’s conclusion brings out her hypocrisy.
She feeds many excuses as to why she was picked and how it was not fair, showing selfishness, but at the same time, she expresses what she thinks of this lottery. She yells, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair” (Jackson). She keeps telling everyone how it is not fair, with a response of how everyone had the same chance. I find it strange that she, the person who almost stands up for what she thinks is right, is the one who wins the lottery. It’s ironic how she was willing to participate in the group violence until she was the one to become the victim and then claims how unfair it was. Which proves the point that society accepts things that some don’t agree with and think is immoral. Society still tends to accept the immoral.
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Throughout the story, Jackson gave many hints to the tragic ending. I did not pick up on them at first, because I like to think of myself as optimistic. But when I found out the ending and then re-read the story for a second time, I saw the foreshadowing Jackson applied throughout. In the beginning of the story it told how the little kids were collecting the rocks and making a pile of them in town square. At first, it seems that it is just childish play, but then we see at the end of the story what the stones were actually used for. She also foreshadowed the death and fate of Tess Hutchinson, when she arrived late and was the last one to the gathering and everyone made a path for her to get through almost as if they were all waiting for her.
The first time I read “The Lottery”, I was confused and thought it was very strange. But once I found out the ending and theme of the story it all made sense. The main point of it was to put reality in a story. Even though things are not right, society still turns their head and allows the wrong to happen. I find this story to be startling and eye-opening because it shows the reader (af- ter having to do some thinking) that standing up for what you believe in is paramount and can mean the difference between good and evil.
