“The Lottery” Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson (December 14, 1919 - August 8, 1965) was an American author who wrote short stories and novels. Her most famous work is her short story "The Lottery," which combines a peaceful small-town-America setting with a horrific shock ending. The tone of most of her works is odd and macabre, with an impending sense of doom, often framed by very ordinary settings and characters.

First Publication and Reaction 1948 in the New Yorker magazine The Lottery is reported to have generated more negative letters from readers than any other story previously published by the magazine. Many cancelled their subscriptions to the magazine Readers were offended by the work and its suggestion that evil could be so easily and commonly carried out. They felt the stoning was a pointless, arbitrary, violent sacrifice.

First Publication and Reaction Some people actually called to see where the town was so that they could go and watch the lottery. Shirley Jackson received over 300 letters that summer alone—I can count only thirteen that spoke kindly to me. Even my own mother scolded me: ‘‘Dad and I did not care at all for your story…it does seem, dear, that this gloomy kind of story is what all you young people think about these days. Why don’t you write something to cheer people up?’’

Shirley Jackson’s Response She refused to explain the meaning of the story. She did once tell a journalist: “I suppose I hoped, by setting a particularly brutal rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the readers with a graphic demonstration of the pointless violence and general inhumanity of their own lives [but] I gather that in some cases the mind just rebels. The number of people who expected Mrs. Hutchinson to win a Bendix washer at the end would amaze you.”

Ancient Ritual Sacrifice In ancient Athens, Greece, Athenians believed that human sacrifice promised fertile crops. By transferring one's sins to persons or animals and then sacrificing them, people believed that their sins would be eliminated, a process that has been termed "scapegoat" A similar ritual sacrifice occurs with Tessie Hutchinson. This explains the village member's remark, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.”

Historical Context “The Lottery” was written in 1948. After World War II Americans tended to imitate those around them rather than follow their own separate paths. Encouraging this conformity was the spread of television, which broadcast the same set of images to Americans scattered through the country. In politics, people feared the spread of Communism, leading to the Un-American Activities Committee, the Hollywood blacklist, and by 1950, McCarthy’s Communist “witch hunt” In the story, the townspeople are swept away by the tide of conformity, and the lottery goes ahead as always.

Historical Context By 1943 news of the Nazi concentration camps had finally reached America. A number of Americans responded with horror and concern that communities could have stood by and silently allowed the Holocaust to occur. Jackson hints at a similar situation in her story when the townspeople are unable to fully question or prevent the brutal lottery practice, and in fact, participate in it.

Characters Bobby Martin, Harry Jones, and Dickie Delacriox- boys in the beginning of the novel; piling the stones and guarding them Mr. Summers- lottery conductor Mr. Graves- postmaster; assisted Mr. Summers Mr. Martin and Baxter Martin- helped Mr. Summers hold the box while he stirred the papers inside Bill Hutchinson- drew the winning piece of paper during the lottery Mrs. Hutchinson- wife of Bill who arrived late to the lottery because she forgot what day it was. She drew the blot dot the second time and was the person stoned Mr. Adams – member of the town who spoke of the north village that was talking of giving up the lottery Old Man Warner- 77 years old; man who represents that people are stuck in their ways and are not willing to change

The Narrator Third Person (Objective) The narrator of "The Lottery" is extremely detached from the story. The narrator simply shows the process of the lottery unfurling. This further underlines the shocking nature of the ending, as our only indications of the lottery's true purpose come from the villagers' nervous manners. Imagine if the story had been told from one of the villagers' point of view – it might have been a far less effective narrative choice.

Initial Situation Villagers gather in the square. The story begins with a sense of liberation. It's a beautiful summer day, the children are out of school, and the villagers have begun assembling in the square to hold a lottery. It is unclear exactly what the prize of this lottery is going to be, and this mystery persists throughout the story. Clearly, the scene has been set for future revelations, which is exactly what the initial situation is supposed to be about.

Conflict Bill Hutchinson gets "it." His wife protests. This is the first overt moment of discord we see in the story, as Tess Hutchinson disagrees with the result of the lottery. Basically, this has conflict written all over it.

Complication Each member of the Hutchinson family nervously draws from the box. Things are starting to get fishy. Clearly, winning the lottery does not entail a trip to Hawaii. The plot thickens as we grow closer to discovering who wins the lottery.

Climax Tess Hutchinson wins the lottery. We've finally reached the climactic moment of the story, when we find out who has won this famous lottery – but we're still left with several mysteries. What exactly is the prize, and why does Tess seem so unhappy about being selected to receive it? These questions are what lead us to the next stage …

Suspense Tess Hutchinson protests the lottery. This whole lottery business is getting weirder and weirder. Tess has won the lottery – so why does she claim it's unfair? We never heard of a California SuperLotto winner protesting the results. We've got growing misgivings about what the prize is, that Tess is so desperate not to get it.

Denouement No dice; the villagers surround Tess carrying stones. Here in the denouement, all suspense is resolved. The villagers ignore Tess's protests as they begin to select the stones they're going to use against here. Suddenly, the penny drops for us, the readers: this lottery winds up in the violent death of its winner. All that's left is the execution.

Conclusion The villagers begin attacking. ‘It isn't fair, it isn't right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her" (80). And that's about all we get. Jackson spares us the grisly details, but it's clear that Tess will be stoned to death. The villagers like to finish the lottery in time for lunch, remember?

Symbolism Black: The color for death, mourning, punishment The black box used to draw lots and the slip of paper with a black mark pointing out the 'winner' are mentioned too frequently to be coincidental.

Symbolism Black box: Coffin? Evil secret hidden away? Black spot on paper: Sin? A “black mark” on one’s record is negative; black mark: unclean?

Symbolism Black Box The box is old; the paint is peeling, and the wood is splintered. This condition reflects the fading of the tradition in other villages as well as the villager's questioning of the lottery in this village. However, they will not replace the box, just like they will not stop the lottery.

Symbolism The Lottery Itself: The setting: Symbolizes any number of social problems that we blindly continue even though they are outdated The setting: No specific name/place indicates this is any town, USA; the contrast of the town with the ritual helps build suspense

Symbolism: Names Summers: the season of summer is associated with youth, strength, growth, prime of life, warmth, leisure, prosperity, happiness, blooming, blossoming Graves the obvious grave = place of entombment/death Grave = serious; hints that the lottery may not be a frivolous contest (“Mr. Graves said gravely”) Critics have said that Jackson creates balance by having Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves share in the responsibilities of the ritual: Life brings death, and death recycles life.

What’s Up With the Title? This story's title brings to mind the dictionary definition of, well, a lottery: a happening determined by chance. There's nothing in that definition about good or bad chance – but did your mind still go straight to giant dollar signs? Ours did, too. In common usage, winning a lottery is cause for celebration. What becomes apparent by the end of Jackson's story, however, is that this lottery sure isn't one you'd want to win. By titling her story "The Lottery," Jackson keeps the real meaning of the story under wraps until the last possible second, allowing her message to deliver maximum impact.

What’s Up With the Ending? Jackson defers the revelation of the lottery's true purpose until the end of the story, when "the winner," Tess Hutchison, is stoned to death by friends and family. This shocking event marks a dramatic turning point in how we understand the story. Jackson uses stoning as a metaphor for the innate savagery that can lurk beneath a modern, civilized façade. See "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" for more on this analogy. The ending is a turning point in other ways as well. One critic notes that the ending transforms "The Lottery" from realism to symbolism, as we suddenly understand the town and its inhabitants as being symbolic. For Tess Hutchinson, the ending of the lottery is certainly not what she expects. Although she began the story as an eager latecomer to the event, the story's conclusion brings out her hypocrisy: Tess Hutchinson is quite willing to participate in group-sponsored violence until she becomes its victim.

Themes Acts of violence, hatred, murder are not acceptable just because many people participate Society is reluctant to reject outdated traditions, ideas, rules, laws, and practices. People are not all good or all evil but a mixture of both. Horrifying acts of violence can take place anywhere at anytime, and they can be committed by the most ordinary people. Following the crowd can have disastrous consequences. The unexamined life is not worth living. Many more ideas/themes can be applied to “The Lottery”

The Writing Style Clinical, Journalistic The very first sentence of the text clues us in: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green." The style appears totally barebones, without any overt emotion – no pleasure or kindness or regret. In this regard, it might be said to mirror the attitude of the villagers themselves, who for the most part see the lottery as a naturalized way of life, no more worthy of emotion than the flowers or the grass. The villagers express no overt sympathy for Tess, and neither does the story's narration. To us, this only serves to increase the horror of "The Lottery".

The Genre Horror Realism

Tone Deadpan Detached Calm

Summary The people of a small village gather in the town square for the annual lottery. They merrily discuss trivial events and the lottery taking place, while waiting for the ceremony to begin. To begin the lottery, the men of each family draws a piece of paper from an old black box. One paper is marked by a black dot. The Hutchinson family draws the dot and must return their papers to the empty box. They draw again to find one winner. At the climax of the story, Mrs. Hutchinson draws the paper with the black dot, complaining how unfair and wrong the lottery was. Clutching rocks, all the townspeople (including the Hutchinson family) then close in on Mrs. Hutchinson and stone her.

Q&A With the exception of the final five paragraphs, are there any indications of violence in the life of the village? What might the absence or presence of violence in other aspects of village life indicate, in light of the story's conclusion? Do you agree with Mrs. Hutchinson – is the lottery unfair? How or how not? Her friends and neighbors point out that they all take the same risks in participating. Are there any clues in the story that might explain how the lottery first started? What might its purpose be? What passages give the reader clues about the origins of this ritual?

“The Lottery”: More than you expected, right…?