The Lottery

The Lottery

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green" (Jackson 263). A pleasant, warm environment, in the middle of the summertime employs serenity; however the townspeople are meeting as they do every year to hold an organized stoning and it is soon evident it is some sort of savagely oppressive society. Jackson's publish of The Lottery shortly after World War II has some critics suggesting she intended to question the desire for warfare, and confront the selflessness of the world's political "tyrants."

In The Lottery the entire community is branded with every mundane procedure and detail of the selection, and Tessie's awareness of them is proof that she participates in the annual massacre. The ritual has been around so long it is essentially programmed into their brains. Even though Old Man Warner is the only one who knows the meaning of the ritual, the other residents feel obligated to continue the lottery because it gives "a place and a meaning in the life of the generations" (Griffin 1). Respectively, warfare has become such a common thing in our lives that it has almost become natural for us to accept it is justifiable to kill another