The lottery is a short story written by the American writer Shirley Jackson and first published
in 1948. It is a story about a lottery in a small village with around three-hundred people.
Everyone has to draw a piece of paper from a black box in alphabetical order of names of
family. The “winner” is the person with the lot with a black spot on it. But the price isn’t nice
at all: the person is stoned to death by all the other villagers, young and old.
This outcome gives the story its character, because the reader doesn’t know how the lottery
will end. You only read what the price of the lottery is in the last paragraph. There is only
one hint of the stoning in the story when it is said that the boys are collecting stones before
the start of the lottery.
It’s a story that shows you that people can cling to tradition even if it leads to an execution.
This is shocking because in this small village everybody knows each other but they all accept
the lottery and follow the rules of the lottery. Some rituals of the lottery have been changed
and the black box is worn out. But the lottery is held every year nevertheless and it is listed
among the square dance, the teen club and the Halloween program as the highlights of
village life.
Some persons get more attention in the story:
Mr. Summers. He runs the coal business and he leads the lottery. Everybody accepts him as
the leader without any opposition.
Old Man Warner. He is the oldest man of the village and he is the strongest supporter of the
tradition of the lottery. He is proud of the fact that he has been at the ceremony 77 times.
He claims that life in the village can’t do without traditions.
Tessie Hutchinson. She had forgotten the day of the lottery and arrives as the last persont at
the meeting. She complains that her husband didn’t get enough time to take the paper he
wanted. But in the end she is the one who gets the paper with the black spot and she is
stoned to death.
The lottery has attracted much attention after its publication. It was adopted many times as
a play, a cartoon and a opera.s
in 1948. It is a story about a lottery in a small village with around three-hundred people.
Everyone has to draw a piece of paper from a black box in alphabetical order of names of
family. The “winner” is the person with the lot with a black spot on it. But the price isn’t nice
at all: the person is stoned to death by all the other villagers, young and old.
This outcome gives the story its character, because the reader doesn’t know how the lottery
will end. You only read what the price of the lottery is in the last paragraph. There is only
one hint of the stoning in the story when it is said that the boys are collecting stones before
the start of the lottery.
It’s a story that shows you that people can cling to tradition even if it leads to an execution.
This is shocking because in this small village everybody knows each other but they all accept
the lottery and follow the rules of the lottery. Some rituals of the lottery have been changed
and the black box is worn out. But the lottery is held every year nevertheless and it is listed
among the square dance, the teen club and the Halloween program as the highlights of
village life.
Some persons get more attention in the story:
Mr. Summers. He runs the coal business and he leads the lottery. Everybody accepts him as
the leader without any opposition.
Old Man Warner. He is the oldest man of the village and he is the strongest supporter of the
tradition of the lottery. He is proud of the fact that he has been at the ceremony 77 times.
He claims that life in the village can’t do without traditions.
Tessie Hutchinson. She had forgotten the day of the lottery and arrives as the last persont at
the meeting. She complains that her husband didn’t get enough time to take the paper he
wanted. But in the end she is the one who gets the paper with the black spot and she is
stoned to death.
The lottery has attracted much attention after its publication. It was adopted many times as
a play, a cartoon and a opera.s
