The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay

Short Story Analysis
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery", uses irony and comedy to suggest an evil hypocrisy and weakness of the human race. The story takes place in a small village, where the people are close and tradition is dominant. A yearly event, called the lottery, is where one person in the town is randomly chosen in a drawing. To be violently stoned by friends and family. The drawing has been around for over seventy-seven years and is practiced by every member of the town.
The unusualness of this idea is most clear through the tone. Jackson’s use of friendly language among the villagers and the presentation of the lottery as an event, similar to the square dances and Halloween programs, illustrate the lottery as a joyful event. The social atmosphere of the women prior to the drawing is also described: "They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip…” The lottery is conducted in a particular manner, and with so much anticipation by the villagers, that the reader expects the winner to receive a prize or something of that manner. It is not until the very end of the story that you learn of the winner's fate: Their prize being death, by friends and family.
The lottery is set in a very ordinary town, where everyone knows everyone and individuals are typical. Families carry the very ordinary names of Warner, Martin and Anderson. Jackson's portrayal of extreme evil in this ordinary, friendly atmosphere suggests that people are not always as they seem. The story implies that underneath one's outward congeniality, there may be lurking a pure evil.
Though the story does not become harmful until the end, the idea is foreshadowed through Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves. Mr. Summers is the man in charge of the lottery. He prepares the slips of paper to be drawn and he mediates the activity. He is described as a respected man, joking around with the villagers and carrying on this foreboding event with no conscience at all. "Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked endlessly to Mr. Graves and the Martins. The name “Summers” faintly identifies the mood of the short story as well as the time the lottery takes place. Mr. Graves, on the other hand, symbolizes the story's underlying theme and final outcome. Mr. Graves is Mr. Summer's assistant, and “Graves” represents death. The unobvious threat of his name and character foreshadows the wickedness of the ordinary people, that again, is always present but not in the spotlight.
"The Lottery" presents a weakness in human individuals. This town, having performed such a terrible act for so many years, continues on with the lottery, with no objections or questions asked, and the main purpose being to carry on the tradition. "There's always been a lottery", says Old Man Warner. "Nothing but trouble in that," he says of quitting the event. However, the villagers show some anxiety toward the event. Comments such as "Don't be nervous Jack", "Get up there Bill" and Mrs. Delacroix's holding of her breath as her husband went forward indicate that the people may not be entirely comfortable with the event. Yet everyone still goes along with it. Not a single person openly expresses fear or disgust toward the lottery, but instead shows enthusiasm. They continue to sacrifice their happiness, for the sake of others. The failure of Mr. Summers to replace the black box used for the drawing symbolizes the villagers' failure to stand up for their beliefs. "Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset tradition as was represented by the black box." The box after so many years is "Faded and stained" just as the villagers' view of reality has become tainted and pitiful. An intense fear of change among the people is obvious.
Mrs. Hutchinson is used to show an individual consumed by double standards and weakness. It’s hinted that she attempted to rebel and not show up to the event, Mrs. Hutchinson arrives late, with a nervous excuse of "forgetting what day it was". It is ironic that she, who almost stood up for her beliefs, is the one who wins the lottery, and is predestined to be stoned. Before the drawing she is friendly with the other women, pretending to be pleased to be present. The very moment that she sees her family has drawn the black dot, her selfishness is evident. "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!” Then she turns on her own daughter. "There's Don and Eva," she yelled maliciously, "Make them take their chance!” Then she continues to scream about the unfairness of the ritual up until the day of her stoning. Mrs. Hutchinson knew the lottery was wrong, but she never did anything about it. She pretends as much as she could to enjoy it, when she truly hated it all along. Maybe the author was implying that the more artificial and the more hypocritical one is, the more of a target they are. Mrs. Hutchinson was clearly the target of her fears.