the lottery literary analysis essay

The Lottery Literary Analysis – Summary & Analytical Essay

The Lottery, a short story by Shirley Jackson, exposes humanity’s brutal and inhumane actions through different characters. Set in a rural village, the plot highlights how traditional customs and practices can lead to the acceptance of cruel behavior. The Lottery literary analysis essay discusses the dangers of blindly following tradition and the need to question and critically evaluate social norms. It is an important summary of the destructive nature of blindly following rules. The Lottery analysis essay also explores the theme of tradition and its impact on society.

Basically, ‘lottery’ in this story is a yearly occasion in which an individual in the town is chosen at random to be stoned by hi/her allies and family members. Notably, the atmosphere created by Jackson in presentation of the sureness and the norm of the practice of lottery within the village is quite convincing that, this practice was readily welcomed.

The ultimate fate of all the practices presented in this short story is marked by ‘death’, perceived as redeemer for many evils people commit against each other. This paper presents the tools of characterization and the setting of the short story “The Lottery”.

One of the most outstanding tools of characterization in this short-story is actions. Though this story is not dominated by many actions, characterization is well defined by the few actions the characters are involved.

For example, Mrs. Delacroix is brought out in the story as being highly determined and quick tempered lady. This is reflected by her action of selecting a large stone ‘so large that she had to pick it with two hands in anger of ….” (Shirley 76).

More so, the unfolding of events in this short story seems as if Jackson is revealing the hypocrisy and evil-nature of human kind. As stated in the story, “They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip…manhandling each other without a flinch of pity…” (Shirley 281). Though the reader of this short story expects the practice of lottery to be beneficial to the villagers in a way, nothing of worth is gained form such practiced of lottery.

It should be noted keenly that, this short story portrays extreme evil committed in just ordinary manner, which implies an underlying evil of man. This quite evident in the way such evils presented in this short story are happening in just friendly atmosphere, reflecting the camouflaging nature of humans.

Despite the short story being not insidious until near its end, the author seems to be foreshadowing this notion of deadliness as brought out through M. Summers, who is in charge of lottery, and his colleague Mr. Graves. The picture brought out of Mr. Summers in this short story makes him seem a respected man as he coordinates various social activities.

This humble nature of Mr. Summers, yet a very dangerous one is reported by Shirley (282) that, “Mr. Summers was very good at all this ….. with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins”. Such activities may seem normal with regard to the village norms, but they reflect high degree of human rights violation.

The main characters used in this short story depict the mood of the actual events in this short story. For instance, the name ‘Summers’ symbolizes the fundamental theme of the story, and ultimate outcome of the entire events (Marshall 3).

Further, the name of Mr. Summer’s colleague, Mr. Graves, who happens to be his assistant in activities of lottery, prefigures iniquity of ordinary people. Basically, imagery is clearly brought out in this short story by having the author give the names of the main characters portray the entire theme.

Together with hypocrisy, ‘lottery’ in this short story presents the weak nature of human nature. Considering that this act of lottery had been a routine in this village for many years, no one seems to question its negative impacts in the general human welfare.

As reflected in Shirley (282), “There’s always been a lottery and no one has been nervous about it…everyone goes on with it…” reveals how hypocritical the people in the village were.

According to Hyman (35) no one had expressed fear of disgust of the act, despite it being depriving human nature of their human rights for survival. The kind of evil and malevolence presented in this short story goes beyond human violence since all is done calmly and in unity.

As Marshall (3) suggests, the use of protagonism in this short story is a real reflection of how people are deeply engraved in hypocrisy and wickedness. Ironically, Mrs. Hutchinson, who emerges to protest and rebel against lottery, emerges as the victim of the act of lottery the day she was going to protest against it.

This retracts all acts of rebellion against the act of lottery, and everything goes on as usual. Though before drawing from her fellow women to face her fate she seems happy, Mrs. Hutchison she is brought out to be happy to leave to see the way her fellow humans are mistreated (Hyman 46).

This reveals the way oppressive norms and cultures deem hopes of liberalization from such oppressive cultures. Particularly, the death of Mrs. Hutchison marks the continuity of evil nature of human kind eternally, despite their facial appearance seeming friendly.

Generally, the unfolding of the short story reflects the way humans mistreat each other, presumably in conformation to cultural beliefs and practices. Since the act of lottery as presented in this short story seems to undermine human nature, people seem to condone such evils with less regard on their negative impacts.

As the story ends, the ‘light of hope’ for liberalization, Mrs. Hutchison, dies which implies the unending nature of human wicked nature and evil. Generally, the short story reflects the societal malpractices committed by mankind to each other, as though they are ordinary events.

Works Cited

Hyman, Stanley. The Presentation of Evil in “The Lottery”. New Jersey: Bantam Publishing Co., 2000.

Marshall, Garry. Analysis of “The Lottery” a Short Story by Shirley Jackson. New York: Lori Voth Publishers, 2003.

Shirley, Jackson. The Lottery. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers, 1948.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Lottery Literary Analysis – Summary & Analytical Essay." October 28, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/literary-analysis-of-the-lottery/.

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Literary Analysis: “The Lottery”, Essay Example

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Shirley Jackson’s story, “The Lottery” (1948) is famous for disturbing readers. One of the reasons that the story incites such a powerful emotional response in the audience is that Jackon’s theme in the story relates to a central experience of being human. This experience is that of being both an individual and a member of collective society. By creating a “normal” world and setting that is also terrifying and horribly evil, Jackson is able to craft an unforgettable modern “fable” that carries a strong and highly significant message. Jackson uses irony throughout the story to convey the message that social conformity taken to an extreme is a most dangerous threat to humanity.

While many readers will readily see that Jackson has combined elements of modern life with primitive ideas and practices, such stoning, fewer readers are probably aware of the way in which irony is employed by Jackson to suggest the deeper conflict between individualism and conformity. For example, Tessie Hutchinson, who becomes the sacrificial victim of the stoning pleads for justice from the townspeople. In other words, she attempts to appeal to their sense of justice and humanity. Instead of responding, the townspeople stone Tessie Hutchinson to death because they have substituted blind obedience to ritual and law for a sense of justice and empathy. this is ironic in that, the townspeople are trying to follow law and custom to preserve their culture and ideals, but they are actually preventing true law and meaningful culture from happening.

The way that this sense of irony connects to the main theme of the story is that it shows how blind obedience to the crowd is often a path to injustice and tragedy. Therefore, it is important for individualism to exist as a counterbalance for social influences. Another way that Jackson uses irony to extend her theme of individuality is by connecting a superstitious ritual to a seemingly modern society. This is done by Jackson to make sure that the reader knows there is no rational reason for the lottery or the stoning of the town’s victims. They are simply following a custom for its own end and they are doing so while being obviously ignorant even of the origin or purpose of their murderous ritual. There is also a subtle implication of irony in the way that Jackson describes the weather and season: ‘flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson). Careful readers will note that the combination of murder and the beautiful day is meant to show that the people of the town are oblivious to nature.

Being oblivious or out of step with nature is a theme that aligns very closely to Jackson’s theme of social conformity. The usual vision of social conformity holds that it is an instinctual, evolutionary behavior for human-beings to group together in societies and follow a “herd” impulse. This vision is generally supported by comparing human nature to animal nature. Jackson turns this around ironically and implies that nature actually excels through individuality and birth, rather than conformity and death. The description of the season and weather is a form of symbolism to express this irony with the spring weather indicating birth and the sunny day symbolizing optimism and affirmation. The symbolic connection is offered almost obviously by Jackson in order to show, by contrast, how shallow and blind the people of the village have actually become.

Not a single person in the village is able to object to the ritual murder of the young girl. This is due not to actual powerlessness on the behalf of the people; it is due plainly to their ignorance and blind obedience to conformity. The people portrayed in the story are so afraid of being killed for “standing out” of the crowd that they each suppress their individuality. When each person suppresses their individual feelings all chance of political objection or rebellion dies. When this happens broken social systems, even ones which are cruel and dehumanizing, are able to continue despite the fact that their continuation provides nothing of merit to society.

In fact, this latter quality: the inability to question tradition of the status-quo is the most ironic construction in the story. By showing that the people in the village have simultaneously forgotten how or why the lottery started in the first place yet defend its ritual as the most significant thing in society, Jackson reaches her highest level of irony in the story. This shows that law is only important to conformists in itself; it does not need to serve any justice or social purpose. Of course, since the whole point of human society is ostensibly to rise out of the meaningless “primitive” state of nature, such blind conformity indicates that society has utterly failed. of course, this irony is even more brutal and more profoundly pronounced in that it results in the collective murder of an innocent child.

It is of utmost importance that readers understand Jackson’s story as being more than a story about primitive superstition. The fact, the story is a warning about the extreme dangers that accompany social conformity. While those who relish the idea of social order and law may fail to see the brilliance of Jackson’s argument, those who have suffered under the pressure of others to conform, blindly, to a belief, agenda, or organization will intuitively understand why it was necessary for Jackson to end her story with the brutal murder of an innocent girl. It was necessary because the danger of blind conformity is that it destroys everything important and meaningful about being human, and sacrifices it to a senseless obedience to tradition and law.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. Classic Shorts.Com; accessed, 9-19-13. http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lotry.html

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Literary Theory and Criticism

Home › Literature › Analysis of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery

Analysis of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on May 28, 2021

As were many of Shirley Jackson’s stories, “The Lottery” was first published in the New Yorker  and, subsequently, as the title story of The Lottery: or, The Adventures of James Harris in 1949. It may well be the world’s most frequently anthologized short story. A modern horror story, it derives its effect from a reversal of the readers’ expectations, already established by the ordinary setting of a warm June day in a rural community. Readers, lulled into this false summer complacency, begin to feel horror, their moods changing with the narrator’s careful use of evidence and suspense, until the full realization of the appalling ritual murder bursts almost unbearably on them.

The story opens innocently enough, as the townspeople gather for an unidentified annual event connected to the harvest. The use of names initially seems to bolster the friendliness of the gathering; we feel we know these people as, one by one, their names are called in alphabetical order. In retrospect, however, the names of the male lottery organizers—Summer and Graves—provide us with clues to the transition from life to death. Tessie, the soon-to-be-victim housewife, may allude to another bucolic Tess (in Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles ), whose promising beginnings transformed into gore and death at the hands of men.

Shirley Jackson/Erich Hartmann

The scholar and critic Linda Wagner-Martin observes that only recently have readers noticed the import of the sacrificial victim’s gender: In the traditional patriarchal system that values men and children, mothers are devalued once they have fulfilled their childbearing roles. Tessie, late to the gathering because her arms were plunged to the elbow in dishwater, seems inconsequential, even irritating, at first. Only as everyone in the town turns against her— children, men, other women invested in the system that sustains them—does the reader become aware that this is a ritual stoning of a scapegoat who can depend on no one: not her daughter, not her husband, not even her little boy, Davy, who picks up an extraordinarily large rock to throw at her.

No reader can finish this story without contemplating the violence and inhumanity that Jackson intended it to portray. In the irony of its depiction lies the horror of this classic tale and, one hopes, a careful reevaluation of social codes and meaningless rituals.

Analysis of Shirley Jackson’s Stories

https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-authors-voice/a-m-homes-reads-shirley-jackson-the-lottery

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery: or, The Adventures of James Harris. New York: Farrar, Straus, 1949. Wagner-Martin, Linda. “The Lottery.” In Reference Guide to Short Fiction, edited by Noelle Watson, 783–784. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994.

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The Lottery Analysis: Essay on Shirley Jackson’s Short Story

The lottery: analysis essay introduction, the lottery analysis, the lottery: conclusion of the essay.

Are you about to write The Lottery summary essay and looking for examples? Then check out this The Lottery analysis essay sample! Here, you’ll find information on the setting, themes, and other aspects of the story.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is one of the most recognized short pieces of literature in the US. First published in 1948, it quickly gained popularity due to various psychological aspects of the story. The following analysis of The Lottery is going to talk about it in detail.

The Lottery in the story is an annual event. Family members and friends randomly select a person in the city to be stoned to death. Long ago, it was to ensure that future harvests would bring a sufficient amount of food. At the time of the story, no one remembers this reason. The whole atmosphere of the ‘normality’ of such an event created by the author is very persuasive. Every person in the village is confident that this kind of practice is natural and cheerfully welcomes it.

Lottery arrangements start the night before the event. Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves draw up a list of all of the big families in town. They plan a set of lottery tickets, one per family. All of these tickets are blank except for one marked with a black dot. The slips are folded and put in a wooden box, which Mr. Summers keeps in his office.

Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, shows the many sins committed by humanity. It takes place in a remote American village. In this setting, traditions and customs dominate the local population.

‘Death’ characterizes the final destiny of all the activities described in this short story. It is viewed as a redeemer of many atrocities done against one another by individuals. The Lottery analysis essay introduces characterization methods and the setting.

Actions and the general behavior of people are among the most remarkable characterization methods. Although this book does not contain many of them, the few acts that affect the characters define it.

For example, the story introduces Mrs. Delacroix as a determined lady with a quick temper. Her action of picking a big stone expresses it. The rock is “so big that she had to pick it out in frustration with two hands ….” (Shirley 76).

Events of the story show that Jackson condemns humankind’s hypocrisy and evil nature. “They greeted each other and exchanged bits of gossip … handling each other without a flinch of sympathy …” is written in the story (Shirley 281). The reader expects the lottery to be advantageous in some way to the villagers. Nothing of value is achieved, though, in the form of such practice.

Jackson depicts horrific and terrible things done in an ordinary manner that suggests underlying human evilness. Every evil deed in the book is done in a friendly and relaxed setting. Thus, it becomes clear that humans are deceiving in their nature.

The presentation of the whole story does not look menacing until near its end. The author seems to foreshadow this threat, as illustrated by Mr. Summers, who is in charge of the lottery, and his associate Mr. Graves. In this short story, the description makes Mr. Summers seem to be a respected member of the local society. He organizes and coordinates various social events.

Mr. Summers has a modest character but a hazardous one. As Jackson (282) says, “Mr. Summers was very good at all this ….. with one hand carelessly resting on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.” These practices may seem ordinary regarding village norms. For the reader, they represent a high degree of violation of human rights.

The principal characters used in the short story represent the atmosphere of the actual events. For example, the name “Summers” symbolizes the essential theme of the plot and the eventual outcome of the entire events (Marshall 3).

Additionally, the name of Mr. Summers’ friend, Mr. Graves, his assistant in lottery events, symbolizes the wickedness of ordinary villagers. So, the author uses such names to portray the idea of such absurdity.

In the short story, the lottery represents the weak and deceitful nature of humans. This act has been a practice for many years in this area. And yet, no one seems to doubt its detrimental effect on the local population. “There’s always been a lottery, and no one has been nervous about it…everyone goes on with it…” This excerpt shows how hypocritical the people in the village have become.

According to Hyman (35), despite depriving humans of their rights to life, no one expressed fear or disgust at the act. The kind of evil and lack of morality portrayed goes beyond human brutality. Everything is done in a calm and consensual manner.

Marshall (3) suggests such an atmosphere is a real reflection of how people are profoundly hypocritic and wicked. It concerns even Mrs. Hutchinson, who comes out to protest and rebel against the lottery. Unsurprisingly, she became the victim of the lottery act the same day she protested against it. Mrs. Hutchinson does not speak against the mistreatment of her fellow villagers before she is chosen to be sacrificed (Hyman 46). Such an event shows that all acts of defiance against the lottery are quickly hindered. Everything goes on as usual.

From our analysis of The Lottery, we can see the prominent theme. A person starts to oppose those “cultural norms” and laws only when they hurt them personally. In particular, despite our seemingly friendly appearance, Mrs. Hutchinson’s death marks the continuity of the eternal evil nature of humankind.

To conclude The Lottery literary analysis, the unfolding of the short story reflects how humans mistreat each other. Presumably, it happens in compliance with cultural beliefs and practices. The lottery act undermines human nature. So, individuals seem to condone such evils with less consideration for their negative impacts.

At the end of the story, the “light of hope” for liberalization represented by Mrs. Hutchinson dies. That proves the existence of the corrupt and evil nature of man. Generally speaking, the short story describes the social malpractices that society conducts toward each other as if they were ordinary occurrences.

What is the goal of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson literary analysis?

The goal of The Lottery literary analysis essay is to characterize methods and the setting. But the event of the story should not be the only focus. Another critical objective is analyzing the story in a broader context of human psychology.

How do you write a literary analysis essay on The Lottery?

Start The Lottery critical analysis by describing the book and the author’s background stories. Make sure to include every prominent character in your essay, as well as their personality traits and behaviors. Finish your literary analysis of The Lottery by concluding the main idea behind the story.

What was Shirley Jackson’s message in The Lottery?

Shirley Jackson tries to provide us with some light on the danger of following traditions blindly. In the book, the entire village meets on the town square to compete in the annual lottery of death. Nobody questions its existence, no matter how abusive and cruel it is.

Why was Mrs. Hutchinson late for the lottery?

Tessie Hutchinson arrives late to the lottery because she forgot what day it was. Other villagers cannot help but notice it and come to quick conclusions. They immediately start thinking of her as someone different and even threatening. Even her husband, Bill Hutchinson, accepts her fate.

What do the stones symbolize in The Lottery?

In The Lottery, the stones symbolize the execution method depicted in the Bible. There, people used the same things to execute the perpetrators of law and tradition. The stones show the violent capabilities of the crowd that is capable of such horrible actions.

• Hyman, Stanley. The Presentation of Evil in “The Lottery”. 2000, New Jersey: Bantam Publishing Co.
• Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. 1948, New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.
• Marshall, Garry. Analysis of “The Lottery” a Short Story by Shirley Jackson. 2003, New York: Lori Voth Publishers.

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Analysis of 'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson

Taking Tradition to Task

ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison

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When Shirley Jackson's chilling story "The Lottery" was first published in 1948 in The New Yorker , it generated more letters than any work of fiction the magazine had ever published. Readers were furious, disgusted, occasionally curious, and almost uniformly bewildered.

The public outcry over the story can be attributed, in part, to The New Yorker 's practice at the time of publishing works without identifying them as fact or fiction. Readers were also presumably still reeling from the horrors of World War II. Yet, though times have changed and we all now know the story is fiction, "The Lottery" has maintained its grip on readers decade after decade.

"The Lottery" is one of the most widely known stories in American literature and American culture. It has been adapted for radio, theater, television, and even ballet. The Simpsons television show included a reference to the story in its "Dog of Death" episode (season three).

"The Lottery" is available to subscribers of The New Yorker and is also available in The Lottery and Other Stories , a collection of Jackson's work with an introduction by the writer A. M. Homes. You can hear Homes read and discuss the story with fiction editor Deborah Treisman at The New Yorker for free.

Plot Summary

"The Lottery" takes place on June 27, a beautiful summer day, in a small New England village where all the residents are gathering for their traditional annual lottery. Though the event first appears festive, it soon becomes clear that no one wants to win the lottery. Tessie Hutchinson seems unconcerned about the tradition until her family draws the dreaded mark. Then she protests that the process wasn't fair. The "winner," it turns out, will be stoned to death by the remaining residents. Tessie wins, and the story closes as the villagers—including her own family members—begin to throw rocks at her.

Dissonant Contrasts

The story achieves its terrifying effect primarily through Jackson's skillful use of contrasts , through which she keeps the reader's expectations at odds with the action of the story.

The picturesque setting contrasts sharply with the horrific violence of the conclusion. The story takes place on a beautiful summer day with flowers "blossoming profusely" and the grass "richly green." When the boys begin gathering stones, it seems like typical, playful behavior, and readers might imagine that everyone has gathered for something pleasant like a picnic or a parade.

Just as fine weather and family gatherings might lead us to expect something positive, so, too, does the word "lottery," which usually implies something good for the winner. Learning what the "winner" really gets is all the more horrifying because we have expected the opposite.

Like the peaceful setting, the villagers' casual attitude as they make small talk— some even cracking jokes—belies the violence to come. The narrator's perspective seems completely aligned with the villagers', so events are narrated in the same matter-of-fact, everyday manner that the villagers use.

The narrator notes, for instance, that the town is small enough that the lottery can be "through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner." The men stand around talking of ordinary concerns like "planting and rain, tractors and taxes." The lottery, like "the square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program," is just another of the "civic activities" conducted by Mr. Summers.

Readers may find that the addition of murder makes the lottery quite different from a square dance, but the villagers and the narrator evidently do not.

Hints of Unease

If the villagers were thoroughly numb to the violence—if Jackson had misled her readers entirely about where the story was heading—I don't think "The Lottery" would still be famous. But as the story progresses, Jackson gives escalating clues to indicate that something is amiss.

Before the lottery starts, the villagers keep "their distance" from the stool with the black box on it, and they hesitate when Mr. Summers asks for help. This is not necessarily the reaction you might expect from people who are looking forward to the lottery.

It also seems somewhat unexpected that the villagers talk as if drawing the tickets is difficult work that requires a man to do it. Mr. Summers asks Janey Dunbar, "Don't you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?" And everyone praises the Watson boy for drawing for his family. "Glad to see your mother's got a man to do it," says someone in the crowd.

The lottery itself is tense. People do not look around at each other. Mr. Summers and the men drawing slips of paper grin "at one another nervously and humorously."

On first reading, these details might strike the reader as odd, but they can be explained in a variety of ways -- for instance, that people are very nervous because they want to win. Yet when Tessie Hutchinson cries, "It wasn't fair!" readers realize there has been an undercurrent of tension and violence in the story all along.

What Does "The Lottery" Mean?

As with many stories, there have been countless interpretations of "The Lottery." For instance, the story has been read as a comment on World War II or as a Marxist critique of an entrenched social order . Many readers find Tessie Hutchinson to be a reference to Anne Hutchinson , who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious reasons. (But it's worth noting that Tessie doesn't really protest the lottery on principle—she protests only her own death sentence.)

Regardless of which interpretation you favor, "The Lottery" is, at its core, a story about the human capacity for violence, especially when that violence is couched in an appeal to tradition or social order.

Jackson's narrator tells us that "no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box." But although the villagers like to imagine that they're preserving tradition, the truth is that they remember very few details, and the box itself is not the original. Rumors swirl about songs and salutes, but no one seems to know how the tradition started or what the details should be.

The only thing that remains consistent is the violence, which gives some indication of the villagers' priorities (and perhaps all of humanity's). Jackson writes, "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones."

One of the starkest moments in the story is when the narrator bluntly states, "A stone hit her on the side of the head." From a grammatical standpoint, the sentence is structured so that no one actually threw the stone—it's as if the stone hit Tessie of its own accord. All the villagers participate (even giving Tessie's young son some pebbles to throw), so no one individually takes responsibility for the murder. And that, to me, is Jackson's most compelling explanation of why this barbaric tradition manages to continue.

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“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson: A Critical Analysis

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson first published in 1948 takes place in a small, seemingly idyllic town in rural America, where the townspeople gather every year to participate in a ritual lottery.

Introduction: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Table of Contents

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson first published in 1948 takes place in a small, seemingly idyllic town in rural America, where the townspeople gather every year to participate in a ritual lottery. The lottery, which involves randomly selecting a winner from the townspeople, takes a dark and disturbing turn, revealing the hidden cruelty and brutality that lies beneath the surface of the seemingly peaceful community. The story has become a classic of American literature and is often studied for its exploration of themes such as tradition, ritual, and the dark side of human nature.

Main Events in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• The story opens on a beautiful summer morning in a small town where the residents are gathering in the town square for the annual lottery.
• Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, the town leaders, arrive with the black box that contains slips of paper for each household in the town.
• The townspeople draw papers from the box, with the head of each household going first, and the person who selects the slip of paper with a black dot on it is declared the “winner” of the lottery.
• Tessie Hutchinson, a housewife, is declared the winner of the lottery and protests that the process was not fair.
• The other townspeople ignore Tessie’s protests and start gathering stones, which are used in the second half of the ritual.
• As Tessie is surrounded by the angry townspeople and pelted with stones, the reader is made to understand that this is a long-standing and accepted part of the community’s culture.
• The stoning continues until Tessie is dead.
• The villagers return to their daily routines as if nothing has happened, indicating that the event has become normalized in their society.
• Some of the younger townspeople seem uneasy with the violence, but they do not speak out.
• The story ends with the chilling description of the pile of stones left at the scene of the murder, as well as the shocking realization that this is a community-wide event that has been happening for generations.

Literary Devices in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• Allusion : The names of some of the characters in the story have symbolic significance, such as Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, which allude to the nature of the event they oversee.
• Hyperbole : Jackson uses hyperbole to emphasize the villagers’ excitement about the lottery, describing it as “the one day of the year that was desirable.”
• Imagery : Jackson uses vivid imagery to describe the setting, creating a contrast between the idyllic summer day and the brutal violence of the lottery.
• Irony : The story is full of irony, such as the fact that the villagers who are supposed to care for each other end up stoning one of their own.
• Metaphor : The black box used in the lottery is a metaphor for the town’s history and tradition, as well as the darkness that lies beneath the surface.
• Personification : The black box is personified as a character with its own history and significance, as well as the power to choose the “winner” of the lottery.
• Point of View : The story is told from a third-person point of view, which allows the reader to see the events from the perspective of multiple characters.
• Satire : Jackson uses satire to criticize the blind acceptance of tradition and the cruelty of mob mentality.
• Simile : Jackson uses similes to create vivid descriptions, such as comparing the black box to a “joke.”
• Social commentary: The story is a commentary on the dangers of blind acceptance of tradition and the power of mob mentality.
• Symbolism : The black box represents the history and tradition of the lottery, as well as the community’s willingness to sacrifice one of its own.
• Tone: The story has a dark and ominous tone, which creates a sense of foreboding and tension.
• Verbal irony : Jackson uses verbal irony to create a sense of tension and unease, such as when the villagers cheer for the winner of the lottery.
• Situational irony : The outcome of the story is a clear example of situational irony, as the person who wins the lottery is also the victim of the stoning.
• Dramatic irony : The reader knows more than the characters in the story, which creates dramatic irony, such as when Tessie protests that the lottery was not fair, even though the reader knows that she will be the victim.

Characterization in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Major characters:.

• Tessie Hutchinson: The central character, Tessie is initially portrayed as a concerned wife and mother, arguing with her husband about a missing household item (“Wouldn’t these stones hurt all over?”). However, as the story progresses, her character gains depth through her growing unease and eventual defiance (“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”).
• Mr. Hutchinson: Tessie’s husband, Bill, serves as a foil to her. He blindly follows tradition, even when it turns against his family (“All right, Tessie. That’s enough of that”). This highlights the conflict between blind tradition and individual survival.

Minor Characters:

• Old Man Warner: The oldest villager, Warner represents the unwavering adherence to tradition. He defends the lottery’s importance (“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”) despite its brutality.
• Mr. Summers: The lottery official, Summers, embodies a disturbing normalcy. He treats the event as a routine task, using a cheerful tone (“Good morning, everyone!”) to mask the ceremony’s sinister nature.

Characterization Techniques:

• Dialogue: Dialogue reveals characters’ personalities and motivations. Tessie’s arguments expose her growing fear, while Bill’s acceptance highlights the danger of unquestioning tradition.
• Actions: Characters’ actions speak volumes. Old Man Warner’s insistence on following the rules, despite the potential for his family to be chosen, showcases the tradition’s grip on the community.
• Indirect Characterization: Descriptions of characters and their surroundings paint a picture of their roles and the story’s atmosphere. The seemingly idyllic setting (“The morning of June 27th was clear and warm”) contrasts sharply with the dark lottery ritual.

Impact of Characterization:

The characterization in “The Lottery” creates a sense of unease and foreshadows the horrifying climax. The villagers’ casual acceptance of the lottery (“Mr. Summers.. used the same stone year after year”) makes the ritual even more disturbing.

By focusing on the characters’ blind adherence to tradition and Tessie’s desperate rebellion, Jackson critiques the dangers of unquestioning authority and the potential for barbarity hidden within seemingly normal traditions.

Major Themes in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

1. The Power of Tradition:

• Description: The story emphasizes the deeply ingrained tradition of the lottery. Phrases like “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Old Man Warner) highlight its connection to the harvest and a perceived necessity for good fortune.
• Impact: The villagers blindly follow the ritual, even Mr. Summers uses the “same stone year after year” despite its horrifying outcome. This unwavering adherence to tradition, regardless of its purpose, becomes a central theme.

2. Danger of Blind Conformity:

• Description: The villagers act as a unified group, unquestioningly participating in the lottery. Even children like Dave Hutchinson are expected to participate, highlighting the pressure to conform.
• Impact: Tessie’s eventual rebellion (“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”) stands out against the conformity. Her fate emphasizes the danger of blindly following tradition without questioning its consequences.

3. Juxtaposition of Peace and Violence:

• Description: The story establishes a peaceful setting (“The morning of June 27th was clear and warm”) with children playing and families gathering. This normalcy is shattered by the violent act of the lottery.
• Impact: The contrast between the idyllic setting and the brutal ritual creates a sense of unease and exposes the potential for violence lurking beneath the surface of seemingly normal traditions.

4. The Randomness of Persecution:

• Description: The lottery chooses its victim at random, with each villager having an equal chance of being selected (“each head of a household reached forward…).
• Impact: This randomness heightens the fear factor. No one is safe, showcasing the senselessness and cruelty of the tradition. The lottery doesn’t punish wrongdoing, it simply chooses a scapegoat.

Writing Style in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• Deceptive Simplicity and Understated Horror: Jackson uses plain language and a straightforward narrative style to lull the reader into a false sense of security, making the shocking conclusion all the more unsettling.
• Foreshadowing and Symbolism: She employs foreshadowing and symbolism to hint at the story’s darker themes. Examples include the black box and the ominous gathering of stones.
• Vivid Imagery and Sensory Detail: Her use of vivid imagery and sensory detail, particularly in the description of the stoning, creates a visceral and disturbing effect on the reader.
• Effective Theme Conveyance: Overall, Jackson’s writing style in “The Lottery” effectively conveys the story’s themes of blind conformity, the dangers of tradition, and the potential for violence lurking beneath the surface of normalcy. It leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Topics, questions, and thesis statements about “the lottery” by shirley jackson.

• Topic: The Power of Tradition
• Question: How does Shirley Jackson portray the power of tradition in “The Lottery”?
• Thesis Statement: In “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson utilizes the unwavering adherence to the annual ritual to highlight the dangers of blindly following tradition, even when it leads to violence and injustice.
• Question: To what extent does “The Lottery” explore the conflict between blind conformity and individual survival?
• Thesis Statement: Jackson’s “The Lottery” exposes the dangers of blind conformity through the villagers’ unquestioning participation in the lottery, contrasting it with Tessie’s desperate rebellion, which ultimately highlights the importance of individuality in the face of oppressive traditions.
• Question: How does Shirley Jackson utilize symbolism and foreshadowing to create suspense and hint at the dark themes in “The Lottery”?
• Thesis Statement: In “The Lottery,” Jackson employs powerful symbols like the black box and the gathering of stones, alongside subtle foreshadowing, to create a sense of unease and gradually reveal the story’s horrifying climax.
• Question: How does Jackson challenge the idyllic small-town setting in “The Lottery” to expose a darker reality?
• Thesis Statement: Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” dismantles the idyllic facade of a seemingly peaceful town by unveiling the brutal lottery ritual, highlighting the potential for violence and barbarity lurking beneath the surface of normalcy.

Short Question-Answer about “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• What is the purpose of the black box in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson?
• The black box in “The Lottery” is a symbol of tradition and the power it holds over the people in the community. The box has been used for generations to hold the slips of paper that determine who will be the annual sacrifice, and the people in the community are afraid to change it. They even refer to the box as “the tradition,” and it serves as a physical manifestation of the hold that tradition has over their lives.
• How does Shirley Jackson use foreshadowing in “The Lottery”?
• Shirley Jackson uses foreshadowing in “The Lottery” to create a sense of unease and anticipation in the reader. She drops hints throughout the story that the lottery is not going to have a happy ending, such as the ominous description of the villagers gathering and the reference to the “bad” lottery in nearby towns. By doing so, Jackson builds tension and a sense of dread that culminates in the shocking and violent conclusion.
• What does “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson say about human nature?
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson suggests that humans have a tendency to blindly follow tradition and groupthink, even when it goes against their morals and values. The people in the community are willing to sacrifice one of their own every year because that’s what they’ve always done, and they’re afraid to break from tradition. Jackson’s story shows how easily people can be swayed by group dynamics and the power of tradition, even when it leads to violence and harm.
• How does “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson critique society?
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a critique of society’s tendency to blindly follow tradition and the harm it can cause. Jackson’s story shows how easily people can be controlled by tradition and the pressure to conform, even when it goes against their own morals and values. By depicting the violent and ritualized sacrifice of a community member, Jackson exposes the darker side of societal norms and traditions and the danger of blindly accepting them.

Literary Works Similar to “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• Works with Similar Themes:
• “ The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas ” by Ursula K. Le Guin: Explores the concept of a utopian society built upon the suffering of one individual.
• “ Harrison Bergeron ” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Satirizes the dangers of enforced equality and conformity in a dystopian future.
• “ A Good Man Is Hard To Find ” by Flannery O’Connor: Explores themes of violence, morality, and the grotesque in the American South.
• “ The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Uses a first-person narrative to create a sense of psychological horror and societal expectations.
• “ We Have Always Lived in the Castle” by Shirley Jackson: Explores the isolation and unsettling family dynamics within a seemingly normal setting.
• The Veldt by Ray Bradbury: Creates a chilling atmosphere with a focus on technology, childhood desires, and the darkness within seemingly perfect families.

Suggested Readings: “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

• Westlake, Sarah. “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: An Allegory of Our Times?”. Studies in Short Fiction , vol. 21, no. 3, 1984, pp. 363-369. JSTOR: [invalid URL removed]
• Melville, Dana. “Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’: The Logic of Sacrifice.” The Kenyon Review , n.s., vol. 9, no. 4, 1997, pp. 127-141. JSTOR: [invalid URL removed]
• Burlingame, Sandra K. Shirley Jackson: A Literary Life . Viking, 1997.
• Franklin, H. Bruce. The Lottery: A Social History of Gambling in America . Knopf, 1999.
• SparkNotes . “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. SparkNotes:
• Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: Themes.” Shmoop University . Shmoop: ([This is a free resource])

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The Lottery

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Analysis: “The Lottery”

“The Lottery,” a short story by Shirley Jackson published in 1948, caused a sensation with its tale of a pleasant American town where, each summer, one citizen is chosen by random lottery and stoned to death. The story presents an extreme case of conventional thinking and mindless group action untethered by reason or compassion. When it published the story, The New Yorker magazine received a firestorm of criticism, hate mail, and cancelled subscriptions. Today, however, “The Lottery” is widely considered a classic of horror fiction.

Though her career was cut short at age 48, author Shirley Jackson was prolific, writing hundreds of short stories and several novels, most of them in the mystery and horror genres. Her most famous creations are the controversial short story The Lottery and the gothic horror novel The Haunting of Hill House ); both are regarded as superlative examples of horror fiction, and both have been adapted for stage and screen.

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The Lottery

Shirley jackson, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

The Juxtaposition of Peace and Violence

“The Lottery” begins with a description of a particular day, the 27th of June, which is marked by beautiful details and a warm tone that strongly contrast with the violent and dark ending of the story. The narrator describes flowers blossoming and children playing, but the details also include foreshadowing of the story’s resolution, as the children are collecting stones and three boys guard their pile against the “raids of the other boys.” These details…

Human Nature

Jackson examines the basics of human nature in “The Lottery,” asking whether or not all humans are capable of violence and cruelty, and exploring how those natural inclinations can be masked, directed, or emphasized by the structure of society. Philosophers throughout the ages have similarly questioned the basic structure of human character: are humans fundamentally good or evil? Without rules and laws, how would we behave towards one another? Are we similar to animals in…

Family Structure and Gender Roles

The ritual of the lottery itself is organized around the family unit, as, in the first round, one member of a family selects a folded square of paper. The members of the family with the marked slip of paper must then each select another piece of paper to see the individual singled out within that family. This process reinforces the importance of the family structure within the town, and at the same time creates a…

The Power of Tradition

The villagers in the story perform the lottery every year primarily because they always have—it’s just the way things are done. The discussion of this traditional practice, and the suggestion in the story that other villages are breaking from it by disbanding the lottery, demonstrates the persuasive power of ritual and tradition for humans. The lottery, in itself, is clearly pointless: an individual is killed after being randomly selected. Even the original ritual has been…

Dystopian Society and Conformity

Jackson’s “The Lottery” was published in the years following World War II, when the world was presented with the full truth about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. In creating the dystopian society of her story, Jackson was clearly responding to the fact that “dystopia” is not only something of the imagination—it can exist in the real world as well. Jackson thus meditates on human cruelty—especially when it is institutionalized, as in a dystopian society—and the…

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Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": a Rhetorical Analysis

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