The Lottery

In “The Lottery”, the town each year conducts a lottery in which the winner or loser, in this case, is stoned to death by his or her own neighbors. The tradition is supposed to uphold social structure within the town, but in order to comprehend the true meaning of the story one must be able to read between the lines. "The Lottery" is a story about a town which has let its traditions go too far. It is clear that the story contains facts that lead the reader to believe that the author’s intentions were not to write a horror story. Instead, she tries to send a message that we, as citizens under government, need to stop and realize all of the problems like oppression and sexism that we can and should bring to our governments attention, things that can make a difference in our society’s lives. I’ll begin by describing what you would call the “top of the social ladder.” The village's most powerful man, Mr. Summers, owns the village's largest business, a coal mine, and is also its chief, since he has more “time and energy to devote to civic activities” than others (Jackson 303). Next is Mr. Graves, the village's second most powerful government official, its postmaster. And beneath Mr. Graves is Mr. Martin, who has the economically profitable position of being the grocer in a village of three hundred people. These three most powerful men who control the town, economically as well as politically, also happen to administer the lottery. Mr. Summers is its official, Mr. Graves helps Mr. Summers make up the lottery slips, and Mr. Martin steadies the lottery box as the slips are stirred. The fact that only men are in positions of responsibility in the town and the fact that only men are allowed to draw during the household choosing phase of the lottery clearly shows the patriarchy in the town. There is no election or choosing of the officials, just the same process each and every year. In the off season, the lottery box is stored either at their places of business or their residences: “It had spent one year in Mr. Graves' barn and another year underfoot in the post-office, and sometimes it was set on a shelf in the Martin grocery and left there.”(Jackson 304)

Townspeople seem to have mixed emotions about the lottery; they fear it yet on a very different level they enjoy it. By standing away from the pile of stones and keeping their distance from the black box, the villagers show their fear of the lottery. However, once they find out who is going to be stoned, Tessie Hutchinson, they seem to actually enjoy the stoning. One villager picks up a stone so big she can barely carry it. Someone even gives Tessie’s youngest son a few pebbles to throw at his mother. When she walks up after being chosen, Tessie is essentially begging for her life and they feel no compassion for her; they simply kill her without remorse. Tessie is perfectly willing to stone one of her neighbors, but when she is the one who is going to be stoned, she says, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(Jackson 307). Similarly, Mr. and Mrs. Adams talk of stopping the