The Lottery

The Lottery

In America anyone would kill to win the lottery. But in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, townspeople will praise luck to keep them away from the price of death.

This story takes place on the morning of June 27th. It is a sunny and pleasant summer day, in the village square of a town of about three hundred people. This town seems to be the best place to live as it is described tranquil and peaceful, with children playing and adults talking about everyday concerns. Along with the tranquility of this town also comes the cruel act of the lottery. The lack of details on time and place give the message that violence and cruelty can take place anywhere. "The Lottery" portraits foreshadowing, irony and human nature at its best.

This story contains many foreshadowed characters and actions that there appear to be innocent but carry pure bad intentions once the end of the story is reached. "Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones." Collection rocks might seem as a pastime for children to do and might seem innocent but later one it is learned that the rocks will be thrown at the winner of the lottery. The lottery takes place in the village square. This shows that the lottery sacrifice is the center of attention and important event of the year to bring good luck. In the beginning of the story the quote "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" makes it seems as if the person scarified in the lottery is the offering for good year of crops. When Tessie showed up late, there was a suspicion that she would be the winner of the drawn. Later on it was confirmed when she started to be a bad sport and called the drawn unfair.

The title is very ironic as lottery usually means winning a price. As the story progresses it is expected that there will be a great price since all descriptions throughout the story made it seem as a pleasant setting. It is also ironic how the townspeople act as if nothing important is going to happen that day but only win a prize. In the first paragraph it is said that people wanted to get through the lottery so they could be on time for dinner, making appear as if it really didn't mean anything but winning a prize. The story takes a sudden turn for readers when it is known that the prize is death by stoning. In the end Mrs.