The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The protagonist and antagonist of the story is the lottery. The story revolves around this event and everyone is getting ready for it which makes it seem as if it were a good thing when in fact it is horrible. The setting is in the summer in a small village and around the 1940's. It is told in the third person omniscient objective where the narrator tells the whole process of the name picking and how everything is done. It tells the whole villages reactions rather than just of one. The conflict occurs as Bill Hutchinson gets "it" and his wife (Tess Hutchinson) proclaims that it is unfair and that the whole drawing should be redone. The denouement ends with Tess Hutchinson being stoned to death. Horror would be one type of genre this short story falls into. The idea of stoning someone to death as part of a tradition to help the crops is a form of sacrifice and it is horrible. It is scary to think that stoning someone is ok. The irony in this story is in the title. The word "lottery" is associated with luck and good fortune where here it is associated with death. The event being thought of as a civic event like the dances or town festivals gives an insight on how the village sees this as a normal tradition that will forever go on, not as torture. The theme is “things are never as they seem" the thought of winning the lottery is great but not in this story. When first reading, the outcome never seems that it will end in an inhuman way.


I thought this story was a little bit morbid. The fact that they seem to think “the lottery” as a good thing and that it has to go on for years to come just kind of makes me think they are small minded. The setting is maybe around the 40’s so the way of thinking is different than now, but I would think that they would still have a sense of morals. Stoning someone so that the crops would do good is nonsense. They should do as the other towns have done and stop. It does not seem like their crops are doing badly and they do not have to stone anyone. Another thing is if they have to do it why involve the little ones who have no clue what is going on, it is unfair. In a way it gives and insight on how tradition is very much important to many, even though it is a bad one. Life might change and people grow old but having this tradition done every year gives a sense of comfort in that there is something that is constant in their lives. It is also important how people need to be educated and know their surroundings so that they can be more open to change. Change is not always bad. I do like how you are kept in suspense of what the prize is until the very end so when you reread it you start to pick up clues that you did not see the first time around, for instance the kids collecting piles of stones.