The Lottery
Shirley Jackson
The story tricks the reader with its title, making the reader assume the story will be one of great luck or fortune. However, it turns out that the one chosen by the lottery ends up being sacrificed. The sacrifice was done because it had been done for generations, but that reason isn't good enough for me. The society is advanced enough to have tractors and a schooling system, so why would they still believe that this sacrifice would help them in any way? No one enforced the stoning, people just followed it; the ritual brought no one joy, it was rather viewed as insignificant. The attitude of the town during the lottery is summarized when Mrs Dunbar says, "'Come on,' she said. 'Hurry up'" (Jackson 271). If an advanced farming society understood their crop and machines, then they couldn't possibly believe the sacrifice would really help the harvest. The tradition that everyone can only make sense in the case that everyone is too spineless to ask questions or find alternatives. The main force behind these thoughts is most likely Old Man Warner. He stubbornly states how "There's always been a lottery" (Jackson 268), and the citizens blindly listen to his "sage wisdom". Maybe the village will change once Old Man Warner finally croaks.
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