Critical Essay of The Lottery

Critical Essay of The Lottery

In the short story "The Lottery," author Shirley Jackson creates a very shocking and horrifying situation through the use of characterization, setting, and the theme of the individual versus society, which is portrayed in the story as scapegoating.

"The Lottery," is a cautionary short story about the dangers of unexamined traditions and the dark side of human nature. Jackson reveals a dark look into society that lampoons traditions, families, and the cruelty that humans can reveal towards each other.

We are reminded of how in our society we too often walk blindly with the majority. It has been proved in history with science, war and politics how people have carried out traditions simply because it was the way they were taught and simply because everyone else was doing it too. The majority rule carried out in an organized manner can make a conscious decision, but because of group mentality, influence from others and fear of separation from the majority, people can become ignorant and unconscious to their way of life.

After a long period of time passes people forget the true meaning of their traditions by slowly disregarding as the years pass.

By the end of first two paragraphs, Jackson has carefully indicated the season, time of ancient excess and sacrifice, and the stones, most ancient of sacrificial weapons.

The story of "The Lottery" takes place on a normal morning in June, in a small village of about 300 people. Everyone is gathering together for the annual lottery drawing. The air is festive and the children's attitudes would even suggest a town picnic. Everyone in the village must participate regardless of age. As the reader quickly realizes this not a picnic, nor is it a normal lottery drawing.

There is quiet a dawning of realization as we find ourselves wondering about this "shabby black box". Why would they give away a wonderful lottery prize in an old battered box? Then we feel the uneasy prick of awareness that something is wrong. Why would this special box, that's been around for many years in the town not be respected? The author states that the box is only kept in a coal safe at Mr. Summers' coal company prior to the morning of the lottery, but throughout the year it stored in various other places.

The families we meet at first seem to be the typical family make up. We meet the children first. They seem as normal as would be expected in a small town where everyone knows each other. Some are gathering rocks in their pockets and others are stacking piles by their feet in readiness. Shirley Jackson has presented us with a picture of innocent children playing together. They seem eager for the lottery to take place. It is obvious that the lottery is satisfying to them, otherwise we would see this anticipation. By the time we reach an understanding of what is lottery is, we will be left with a scary look at what type of children these people are raising.

We will be able to make connections to what we feel about truth and values in bringing up children.In keeping with tradition, which we learn has been abandoned by most other neighboring communities, Tessie is calmly stoned to death by everyone present as a sacrifice to ensure a good harvest ("Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.") We see how traditions, whether right or wrong influences all we do and affect our children; like in the case of Old Man Warner. He is against changing the lottery. He feels that the town's traditions are utmost vital to who they are. He scoffs at other towns that have stopped using the lottery by calling them a "pack of crazy fools."

Jackson uses the significance of the characters' names to foreshadow the story and what "The Lottery" really is.

The Lottery is written allegorically, as to say it could happen in ‘Anywhere, USA’. It could happen at anytime, and at any scale, whether it is your small town, suburbia, or entire nations. The literary scene Jackson builds is one of an old fashioned, patriarchal society rich in superstition and barbaric tendencies. The Villagers gather for a random drawing of one member of the town that they will stone to death. There is seemingly no reason for this murder other than the fact that it was done the year before. Now Jackson is not asking us to watch out for neighbors that want to stone you to death, she is symbolically warning against outdated practices and beliefs. Helen E. Nebeker argues in her critical essay The Lottery: a Symbolic Tour de Force, agrees that the story is rich in symbolism, such as the three legged stool (holy trinity), and the names of characters (Dickie Delecroix=of the cross). She argues that although some traditions are deeply rooted in our society and we eagerly pass them down to our children, it doesn’t necessarily entail truth. In this case, tradition and Christianity can be used interchangeably. Tradition ‘defines our universe’, and allows some people to grasp something they feel is ‘real’ or something that can give their seemingly insignificant lives a purpose. The population at large always attempt to subscribe to some idea larger than them, or for someone to be their savior. Realistically, there is no one to ride in on a white horse and rescue us; we must be our own saviors. Nebeker reminds us that while the entire town respects the leaders in charge of the festivities such as Old Man Warner, Summers(runs the coal mine, coal is black indicating death), Graves(signaling tombstones, death and a cemetery), and Martin, this is much the case of our modern society because every society has it’s priesthoods that dangle salvation in front of the masses like the ultimate dog bone. Unwavering and unquestioning faith is somehow a virtue in this case, and can even get you into heaven. The citizens in the Lottery are looking for this very something larger, and almost all of them believe that the idyllic life can be found in a modest, submissive life.

As the master of ceremonies continues to draw names from the hat, the citizens get increasingly nervous, but ironically enough, as sheep-like as ever. Jackson introduces some shock value into her short story with the drawing of Tessie(short for Teresa,meaning "to harvest") Hutchison, and the subsequent throwing of stones that ends her life. In her dying breath, she ironically claims “It’s not fair…” Jackson stresses a significant amount of irony in this statement, being that a lottery couldn’t possibly be unfair. The only thing unfair here is that they subject each other to such repetitive barbarism, while they continue to hold themselves as civilized individuals. But thus far, that has proved to be the fate of humanity; to preach peace but wage war; to spread tolerance, but deny rights (proposition 8 in California); to encourage fiscal responsibility to some, but to hand out corporate welfare to others. All blatant fallacies in our logic nevertheless, appear to make sense in the cultural climate of an era.

Fritz Oehlshlaeger, in "The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson Meaning of Context in The Lottery" (Essays in Literature, 1988), wrote:
The name of Jackson's victim links her to Anne Hutchinson, whose Antinomian beliefs, found to be heretical by the Puritan hierarchy, resulted in her banishment from Massachusetts in 1638. While Tessie Hutchinson is no spiritual rebel, to be sure, Jackson's allusion to Anne Hutchinson reinforces her suggestions of a rebellion lurking within the women of her imaginary village. Since Tessie Hutchinson is the protagonist of "The Lottery," there is every indication that her name is indeed an allusion to Anne Hutchinson, the American religious dissenter. She was excommunicated despite an unfair trial, while Tessie questions the tradition and correctness of the lottery as well as her humble status as a wife. It might as well be this insubordination that leads to her selection by the lottery and stoning by the angry mob of villagers.

Moreover, it seems as humans we never quite learn from history because we detach ourselves from situations like the above mentioned. “Well that couldn’t happen to me!” is a sadly naïve line of thought. We must always be vigilant, and remember that murder and treachery aren’t just the work of our enemies, it can just as easily be rituals that we subscribe to and authority we place our full faith in. These cunning men come in all shapes, sizes, beliefs, genders, and ethnicities, from the sleek rock star image of the Reverend Jim Jones(Guyana Massacre) to the simple pleasantness of Old Man Warner from The Lottery. Whether it be the wandering soul just looking for god, but found death in a jungle, or the villager who just helped stone their neighbor for no reason other than they did it last year and everyone else is doing it, we are all our worst enemies.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Reading and Writing About Literature. Ed. Philip Sipiora. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 2002: 124-130.

Nebeker, Helen E. "'The Lottery': Symbolic Tour de Force." American Literature.

Fritz Oehlshlaeger, "The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson Meaning of Context in The Lottery" Essays in Literature, 1988.