The Rural Community In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

"The Lottery" is a story written by Shirley Jackson. The story involves a small, rural community that has chosen to follow traditions that they do not fully understand. In a weird ending to the story, a woman wins the lottery, despite the fact that she forgot about it until the last moment. When I think of the word "lottery" it is usually linked to many positive connotations. I immediately think of millions of dollars. When I read the story, naturally I think "the lottery" is going to be something good, not something dark and sinister. Shirley Jackson, in her story “The Lottery”, uses seemingly ordinary details about the setting to emphasize her theme that although society claims to be civilized, and may appear so, it is inherently barbaric.

Jackson says a lot of pleasant things to trick the reader into thinking that this is a nice story. 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”. She is showing the village to be this nice and wonderful place but in reality it is not. Jackson also has children running around and playing to show that this is just a normal village. “They tended to gather quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands”. Children are known for playing around, it is what they do. Jackson is using this to show that this village is just like any other place. Jackson has the crowd communicate with each other to show that they are all neighbors and friends. “Get up there, Bill”, “Mrs. Hutchinson said. and the people near her laughed.” Jackson is making the crowd out to be nice people who joke and laugh about minor