Meaning And Context In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

Literary Scholar Fritz Oehlshlaeger in his article “The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson: Meaning and Context in ‘The Lottery’(1990)” argues that “ There is a strong pattern of detail in the story, then, suggesting that those who are most discomfited by, or resistant to are women. On the other hand, men control ‘The Lottery.’” He supports his claim by first discussing the task the women must face to not get chosen for the raffle by building a bigger family, then by giving evidence to the power men have over the women in the village, then comparing and contrasting similar situations like “ The Road through the Wall” and “The Witchcraft of Salem Village,” and finally by discussing how “The Lottery” needs to look fair for it to seem fair. Oehlshlaeger’s