The Lottery

:This page is about the short story; see lottery for the gambling game.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Lottery is a short story by Shirley Jackson, first published in 1948 in The New Yorker.

Related Topics:
Short story - Shirley Jackson - 1948 - The New Yorker

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In it, a small town gathers on a warm, early-summer morning to carry out their annual lottery. The selection takes place in this way: first, one person from each family draws a slip of paper, one of which has a black circle on it. The Hutchinson family is selected. Each member of the family draws again, to select one person. In the story, the mother of the family, Tessie Hutchinson is selected. This is when the purpose of the lottery becomes apparent, to select one townsperson to die by stoning. The whole town participates, even the family members.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The story eerily contrasts the modern, typical details of the villager's lives -- Mrs. Hutchinson is washing dishes before coming to the ritual, and the Lottery head is described as wearing blue jeans -- with the barbarity of the lottery ritual.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It's a social commentary on how society blindly follows tradition, even if the event is misunderstood or has no current relevance. It's also a comment on scapegoating, or a group using parts of it as ways to release their frustrations - in this case, by stoning. The Lottery is an allegory of how society and groups tend to act everyday.

Related Topics:
Social commentary - Tradition - Relevance - Scapegoating

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It should be noted that in the context of the story, the reader does not know the fate of the Lottery "winner" until the first stone strikes her, though the tone grows darker as she gets closer to her fate.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~