Mystery Of The Lottery Essay, Research Paper

Sometimes, evil surfaces from the most ordinary and unpredictable everyday surroundings. This is most apparent on the short story, “The Lottery,” published in 1948, in which author Shirley Jackson writes of a mysterious and barbaric tradition that stems from seemingly ordinary town settings. Coulthard describes the reason of continuing appeal of The lottery is because of its nihilistic undercurrent, and not the surface attack on subservience to custom (The Explicator 226). Through the use of narrative structure, foreshadowing, and ironic setting, Jackson is able to reflect her views of society at that time, create an engrossing plot that draws readers in, and shock readers with its sudden ending.

In “The Lottery,” Jackson weaves a tightly knit narrative in which external events follow each another in a very organized fashion. Through the use of this narrative structure, she is able to draw in the audience and give them a sense of ordinary life in an ordinary town. The story is based on what seems to be an ordinary town, which conducts a yearly lottery. Jackson starts out the story describing the people of the town gathering for the lottery. On the 27th of June, all the townsfolk gather together for the lottery. They act as if it is just another yearly event with no particular significance. Mr. Summers, who was in charge of the lottery, was also in charge of all of the community’s other activities. “The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teenage club, the Halloween program—by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (Jackson 592). The adults were socializing with one another and the children were playing, but one large question remained. What does the winner of the lottery receive? In this sense, the lottery can almost be considered one long exposition. As the story develops, the shroud of mystery over the lottery is slowly removed, until the climactic ending when the audience is suddenly shocked with the horrible reality of the lottery.

Throughout the short story, Jackson uses subtle foreshadowing to hint as to what the lottery consists of, but the truth of the lottery doesn’t become clear until the very end. At the beginning of the story, the children of the town are depicted gathering and playing with rocks.

Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of other boys (Jackson591).

Children don’t usually gather rocks to play with, but rather they play with balls or other toys. This hints at the stoning, which is soon going to take place. Also, the saying “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” (Jackson 595), from Old Man Warner, hints to what the lottery really is. This saying is a reference to the customs of ancient societies, which would make sacrifices to their gods in order to insure a good crop season. This indicates the possibility of the sacrifice of one of the townsfolk. Finally, everyone who is able to attend does so in a very prompt fashion, except for Tessie Hutchinson who gets there late. “Clean forgot what day it is Thought my old man was out back stacking wood and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running” (Jackson 593). Tessie seemed to have thought that it was just another day, and not the day of the lottery, as if the lottery was of no real significance to her and meant nothing in her life. It becomes a very large part of her life as she is chosen to die.

The method in which Jackson portrays the setting of the story also plays a major role in the plot. The setting in this short story molds its characters into a belief which most readers do not deem proper. As people growing up in this town, they come to think of the lottery as a regular part of their lives. The whole setting is kind of ironic because no one seems to be worried about the lottery, an event that could possibly cause the end of his or her lives. They don’t seem to think of it as anything out of the ordinary. There is talk of taking the lottery away and of how other towns had abolished the lottery, but the townsfolk blow it off as a bunch of nonsense. They are forced by a sort of peer pressure to accept the lottery and everything that comes with it. Only when they are chosen to die do they suddenly feel the need to plea for the unjustness of the lottery, as does Tessie first when her family is chosen; “You didn’t give him [Bill Hutchinson] time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair” (Jackson 595), and then later when she was chosen; “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (Jackson 597). The way the people were brought up in the town causes them to accept the lottery even though it might not be right.

Through the use of tight narrative structure, Jackson was able to establish the seemingly normal town. With foreshadowing, Jackson slowly reveals the truth about the lottery. Also through her establishment of the setting, Jackson is able to show how the violence is forced upon the people of the town by a sort of peer pressure. As the story slowly develops the truth of the lottery is progressively revealed and the audience is faced with the undeniable truth of the barbaric ritual. By doing this, Jackson is able to reflect her impression of society at that time with an engrossing plot that draws readers in until it’s climactic ending. She draws in the reader, forcing them to ponder the meaning of the lottery, all the while masterfully hinting at the true nature of the lottery, all of this juxtaposed to the state of the town and their undying commitment and loyalty to the lottery.