What is the setting of The Lottery?
The setting of The Lottery is a small rural town in the United States. The exact location and time period are never specified, but based on details in the story, it seems to take place in a contemporary 20th century small town. The story opens on June 27th, a beautiful summer day, as the townspeople are gathering for the annual lottery event.
The setting is important because it shows how even in pleasant, normal settings, horrifying traditions can take place. The ordinariness of the small town makes the sinister lottery ritual even more disturbing.
When was The Lottery published?
The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker magazine in 1948. It generated a huge response, mostly negative, from readers who were shocked and horrified by the violent conclusion. Many readers canceled their New Yorker subscriptions in protest. The story was controversial at the time for its examination of meaningless violence and groupthink mentality.
Today, The Lottery is considered a classic American short story and one of Shirley Jackson’s best known works. It continues to be analyzed and discussed in literature classes and makes frequent appearances in anthologies and collections of short fiction.
What is the plot of The Lottery?
The plot of The Lottery centers around an annual lottery held in a small rural town. On June 27th each year, the townspeople gather in the town square, where the men draw slips of paper from a black wooden box.
One slip has a black mark on it, indicating which family “wins” the lottery. Once the family is chosen, each member draws again to see who the individual “winner” will be. The winner ends up being Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson.
At the end of the story, the townspeople, including Mrs. Hutchinson’s own family members, stone her to death. The lottery is complete for another year.
Who are the main characters in The Lottery?
Tessie Hutchinson
Tessie Hutchinson is the protagonist. She arrives late to the lottery gathering, having almost forgotten it was lottery day. Once Tessie arrives and joins her husband and children, her family is chosen in the lottery. When Tessie ends up being the one stoned to death, she protests the unfairness.
Bill Hutchinson
Bill Hutchinson is Tessie’s husband. He quietly follows instructions and helps carry out the stoning, even of his own wife.
Mr. Summers
Mr. Summers is the officiant who oversees the lottery proceedings. He represents blind allegiance to traditions.
Old Man Warner
Old Man Warner has been participating in the lottery for over 77 years and he represents the old ways and resistance to change. He thinks stopping the lottery would lead to nothing but trouble.
What is the theme of The Lottery?
There are several important themes in The Lottery:
The dangers of meaningless traditions and groupthink
The townspeople follow the brutal tradition of the lottery unquestioningly, simply because “it’s always been done.” The story highlights the potential for cruelty when people blindly follow group traditions and lose the ability to think for themselves.
The randomness of persecution
The lottery selects victims completely at random, showing how persecution can target anyone. Tessie objects to the randomness, thinking she doesn’t deserve to be punished. But the townspeople turn on her anyway.
The darkness lurking beneath the surface of normalcy
The pleasant small town setting contrasts horribly with the violence at the end. This demonstrates how normal-seeming communities can hide darker impulses.
What is the symbolism in The Lottery?
Some of the key symbols in The Lottery are:
The Black Box
The black box represents the tradition of the lottery itself. It is old, splintered and decayed, just as the reasoning behind the lottery has decayed over the years.
Stones
The stones are a symbol of group violence and “mob mentality.” The fact that even loved ones are willing to stone Tessie shows how otherwise normal people can become complicit in group violence.
Names
Symbolic names include Mr. Graves, Mr. Summers (suggesting a fun summer event rather than a somber one), and Mr. Martin and his son, Davey (biblical references).
Is The Lottery based on a true story?
No, The Lottery is not based on any specific true events. It is a work of fiction imagined by Shirley Jackson. However, some literary critics have noted that the story may have been inspired in part by the cultural climate of the time period it was written in.
In 1948, when Jackson wrote the story, America was undergoing major social change and unrest. Critics have pointed to parallels between the setting of The Lottery and the McCarthyism of the 1940s and 50s, which also involved close-knit communities turning violently against individuals. However, there is no confirmation that Jackson specifically intended an allegorical connection to any real events.
How did readers react to The Lottery when it was first published?
The reaction to The Lottery was strong and negative from many New Yorker readers. They were shocked, horrified, and outraged by the story. Some called it “outrageously gruesome” and “pointlessly malicious.” Hundreds canceled their New Yorker subscriptions.
The graphic violence was unusual in fiction at the time. One literary critic called it the “most chilling shock in fiction” in a long while. Most readers had completely misinterpreted the story, assuming it would have a happy ending. The brutal conclusion caught them off guard.
Jackson herself was surprised by how strongly readers reacted. She received hate mail and threats directed at her and her family. Over time, however, The Lottery has come to be seen as a classic of American literature.
Why has The Lottery become a classic short story?
There are several reasons The Lottery has stood the test of time to become a classic of modern American fiction:
Shocking plot twist
The story’s unexpected, ironic ending packed a huge shock for readers. The twist reveals the horrors lurking beneath the town’s idyllic surface.
Thought-provoking themes
The Lottery explores universal themes about human nature – conformity, violence, persecution of outsiders. The story prompts important questions about loyalty to tradition vs. independent thought.
Influence and legacy
The Lottery helped cement Shirley Jackson’s reputation. It inspired generations of writers with its examination of the “dark underside” beneath normalcy.
Short, simple, accessible narrative
Jackson uses clean, sparse prose with no excess words. This makes the story widely accessible for high school and college literature students.
Evocative setting and mood
The juxtaposition of the peaceful small town with the shock of stoning creates an unforgettable, eerie mood that lingers.
How is foreshadowing used in The Lottery?
Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing throughout the story to hint at the darker events to come:
Children gathering stones
Early on children are described collecting stones and even putting them in their pockets. This hints at how the stones will later be used.
Sense of ritual
Descriptions of the lottery “tradition” and villagers taking parts establish an ominous feeling of ritual.
Talk of other villages possibly giving up the lottery
Hints that other towns quit having the lottery foreshadow that this town’s tradition is also in question.
Apprehension about being late
Mr. Summers waiting to start so no one is late hints that participants face consequences if they don’t arrive on time.
Talk of rituals changing over time
Mention of some traditions like the song being changed or lost over the years hints that the lottery too evolves.
What is the irony in The Lottery?
There are several important instances of irony in the story:
Pleasant setting
It is a beautiful summer day with flowers blossoming, setting up the irony of the horrific murder about to unfold.
“Prize” of being stoned
The “winner” actually ends up killed, an ironic twist on the usual connotation of winning a prize.
Ordinary town
The town and villagers seem completely normal, which ironically makes the ending more horrifying.
Casual brutality
The casual way the stoning unfolds ironically contrasts with the brutal murder taking place.
Tessie’s protests
Tessie objects to the unfairness but is killed anyway, which is ironic since she expected the “fairness” of the lottery process to protect her.
What is the significance of the title The Lottery?
The title “The Lottery” takes on layers of significance throughout the story. Initially, lottery evokes ideas of winning, luck and random chance. The town’s lottery, however, represents not winning but instead being selected for death and persecution. This evolves the title’s meaning.
The title also reflects the randomness involved – like an actual lottery, the victim is chosen entirely by chance. However, the story suggests this arbitrariness offers no real fairness or protection. The title highlights the irony between the word “lottery” and the story’s true meaning.
What is the tone of The Lottery?
The tone shifts significantly over the course of The Lottery:
Mundane opening
The opening establishes a tone of everyday normalcy and banality in the town.
Gradual unease
As ritualistic elements are described, the tone becomes gradually more uneasy.
False hope
There are moments of lighter tone such as jokes that provide false reassurance and hope of normalcy.
Rising panic
As the stoning approaches, the tone becomes increasingly tense, rushed, and panicked.
Horrific and bleak ending
The murder of Tessie is described brutally and bluntly, establishing a sobering, horrified tone.
What is the writing style of The Lottery?
Jackson’s writing style in The Lottery includes:
Brief, sparse prose
The writing is extremely short and economical. Jackson uses an average sentence length of about 11 words.
Flat, undemonstrative tone
Even hugely dramatic events are described dispassionately, without embellishment.
Ordinary details
The story includes banal, everyday details about the town and residents. This heightens the horror.
Foreshadowing
Jackson frequently uses seeming inconsequential details that subtly hint at later events.
Clean, accessible vocabulary
The vocabulary is relatively simple and uncomplicated. Jackson does not use ornate language.
Detached third-person perspective
Jackson maintains narrative distance and never reveals individual characters’ thoughts.
Vivid descriptions
Brief bits of imagery create vivid impressions of setting and people.
Sudden, shocking conclusion
The ending is extremely abrupt and contains no explanation or resolution.
How does tradition play a role in The Lottery?
Tradition drives the entire conflict of the story. The lottery is described as an annual tradition held for the purpose of “a good harvest.” No one in the town considers not holding the lottery – it is an unquestioned tradition.
Even the oldest man in town, Old Man Warner, says that giving up the lottery could only lead to trouble and that they should keep doing it since “it’s always been done.” The entire town blindly adheres to the tradition. This demonstrates how traditions can lose meaning over time but continue through inertia and passive conformity.
How does The Lottery explore the dark side of human nature?
The Lottery explores several aspects of the dark side of human nature:
Mob mentality
The story shows how people can lose reason and morals when they become part of a mob mentality, even turning against close friends.
Senseless cruelty
The random, meaningless murder of an innocent woman highlights human capacity for evil and cruelty when photos and conditions arise.
Blind conformity
The villagers all conform without ever questioning why. This demonstrates the human tendency to blindly follow traditions.
Lack of independent thought
No one speaks out or tries to change the tradition, showing how people often lack independent critical thought.
Scapegoating
Making Tessie a scapegoat distracts from problems and tensions within the town. The lottery serves as an outlet for people to vent frustrations.
Conclusion
Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery remains impactful decades after publication for its disturbing examination of human cruelty and conformity. The story continues to prompt important questions about traditions, scapegoating, mob mentality, and humanity’s dark side. Its shocking irony, straightforward writing, and timeless themes cement its status as a classic short story that will likely continue to haunt and fascinate readers for generations to come. The Lottery provides ample material for analysis and discussion in literature classes and for general readers interested in moral philosophy in fiction.