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A significant story by American author Shirley Jackson is called “The Lottery.” The tale is about a community where a lottery is conducted every year. The destiny of the individual who draws the “winning” slip, however, is not made clear until the story’s shocking conclusion. The readers are forced to confront certain unpleasant facets of human nature. The below discussion reveals how people’s deference to traditions and authority and their readiness to commit bad deeds in the name of superstitions are depicted in “The Lottery.”
On June 27, a gorgeous summer day, everyone in the little New England community where “The Lottery” is set is assembling for their customary yearly lottery (Jackson). Although everyone seems to be having a good time at first, it quickly becomes apparent that nobody wishes to win the lotto. Until her family makes the feared mark, Tessie Hutchinson appears nonchalant by the custom. She then complained that the procedure was not just. It comes out that the “winner” will be executed with stones by the other citizens. Tessie gets the win, and the narrative comes to an end when the townspeople, including members of her own family, start throwing rocks at her.
Jackson’s deft use of opposites, which puts the audience’s expectations in conflict with the story’s events, is chiefly responsible for the narrative’s unsettling effect. The lovely landscape stands in stark contrast to the shocking brutality of the ending. The narrative begins on a lovely summer day when the grass is lushly green and the flowers are flourishing abundantly. Readers may believe that everyone has come for a fun event like a barbecue or parade when the boys start to gather stones since it appears like a normal, lighthearted activity. In the same way that pleasant weather and family reunions could make us anticipate something wonderful, the phrase “lottery,” which often indicates something favorable for the winner, does the same.
The villagers are hesitant when Mr. Summers requests assistance and take “their distance” from the chair with the container on it until the lottery begins (Jackson). One might not anticipate this response from those who are eagerly awaiting the lotto. The fact that the people speak as though writing the tickets is a laborious job that has to be done by a man also strikes the reader as odd. It is nervous during the lottery itself – nobody looks at anybody else in the room. Mr. Summers and the men were scribbling on scraps of paper, smiling anxiously and hilariously at one another (Jackson). These details may seem strange to the readers at first approximation, but there are a number of approaches to explain them, such as the fact that individuals are really worried due to their desire to win. However, viewers know there have always been conflicts and brutality in the novel as Tessie Hutchinson shouts, “It wasn’t fair!”
The depicted individuals have obviously grown up with one another and know one another well, yet they are willing to turn against one of their neighbors just because the lottery says so. Little Dave, the smallest Hutchinson kid, may uncover his piece of paper to be empty, and the townspeople may exhale in unison in relief. However, Jackson puts the audience in no doubt that they could kill him if he was the unfortunate victim. In the same way that pleasant weather and family reunions could make us anticipate something wonderful, the phrase “lottery,” which often indicates something favorable for the winner, does the same.
Whichever interpretation an audience may want, “The Lottery” is really a tale about the propensity for violence in people, particularly when this violence is disguised as a defense of tradition or societal order. No one hated to disrupt even as much custom as was symbolized by the black box, according to Jackson’s narrator. The fact is that the villages recall relatively few specifics, and the box actually is not the original, despite the locals’ desire to believe that they are upholding tradition. Songs and salutes are the subjects of rumors, but nobody appears to be certain of the tradition’s origin or the specifics.
Violence is the one thing that never changes, and it provides some insight into people’s values (and presumably those of humanity as a whole). The locals remembered to utilize stones despite having forgotten the ceremony and misplaced the original black container, according to Jackson. When the storyteller adds directly, “A stone hit her on the side of the head,” it is among the story’s bluntest points (Jackson). Nobody in Hamlet feels individual accountability for the murder since everyone takes part – even providing Tessie’s little son with some stones to toss. This is Jackson’s most convincing justification for why this uncivilized tradition endures.
Thus, the discussion above provides insights regarding how the dark side of human nature is depicted in “The Lottery.” It was found that the lottery reflects people’s inherency of violence that can arise from irrational adherence to ambiguous traditions and rituals. Jackson seems to promote the idea that humans are to assess cultural heritage critically and adapt unacceptable customs to the principles of adequacy and appropriacy.
Work Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” The New Yorker, 1948, Web.
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