The Lottery

Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” is about a village’s tradition that is based upon chance. The protagonist, Mrs. Hutchinson, is a lighthearted wife and mother of three. Every summer on June 27th in the village where Mrs. Hutchinson resides, the town of about 300 gathers in the square. The square is where one person is chosen by lottery to be stoned to death so next season’s crop will be plentiful. Mrs. Hutchinson seems to be completely ignorant to the fact she could possibly be chosen for the lottery, until fate decides against her. Jackson uses the denial of the dynamic character Mrs. Hutchinson, to suggest no one is invincible, and everyone has an equal chance at life.

At the beginning of the story, the men, woman and children all begun to arrive at the square. First arrived the children; they picked different stones to use for the lottery. “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones.” The men came to the square second; they talked of boorish things like taxes while they kept and eye on the children. The women arrived last and exchanged a few words of gossip with other women then joined their husbands’ side. The separation of men, women and children gives the reader an idea of how traditional the village remains. Mrs. Hutchinson was late to the square and was the very last that arrived. “ �Clean forgot what day it was,”’ she said upon arrival. Mrs. Hutchinson seemed to ignore the fact that she could and would soon be faced with death. Some could say in the beginning of the story, Mrs. Hutchinson is in a state of denial and is facing the internal conflict of self-deceit vs. reality.

The villagers continued to play the lottery even after much of the tradition had been lost or forgotten. In fact, other surrounding villages had begun to give up the lottery altogether, but Mrs. Hutchinson’s village still showed hesitancy to adapt to newer ways of life. It could be suggested, ignorance allowed them to believe that giving up the lottery would be taking a step back in society and only a fool would do so. Old Man Warner is a traditionalist within the village. Warner suggested, “ Next thing you know, they’ll