One of America's Best and Most Controversial Short Stories, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

For over 2 hours the villagers gathered around the town’s square awaiting the results to the annual lottery. “The Lottery” was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948 and became one of America’s best and most controversial short stories. In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson expressed her opinion on society’s resistance to change and how people uphold traditions passed down through generations.

At first in “The Lottery” the author makes it seem like this annual event is a very positive event in the village. The tone in Shirley’s writing is very pleasant and inviting especially when she talks about the setting in which it takes place. “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.” (Jackson. 1) This style of writing and describing the setting makes the reader very oblivious to what will happen by the end of the story.

Symbolism was very prevalent throughout the story. When the black box was brought into the square and placed on the three-legged stool, the villagers reacted to it as if it were a relic. “…the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool”(Jackson.1) The way people reacted to this object made it seem as if they are scared of it or think it has some special powers. The postmaster’s name, Mr. Graves, also acts as a symbol in this story, which gives some clues about what happens by the end of the story.

The black box represents tradition. “Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black bo...

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... killed a family member, friend, or neighbor she didn’t even give it a thought the morning of, instead only realized what day it was because she didn’t see her family at home. I think that Shirley Jackson was trying to show that unfortunately, traditions are sometimes hard to change unless people will personally benefit in some way from such a change. It wasn’t until after she was picked as the lottery winner that Tessie started yelling, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”(Jackson.8).

“The Lottery” showed a lot about how hard it is for many people to move away from traditions and , society’s resistance to change. Everyone is used to a certain way of life and people are brought up with different social, political, and religious beliefs. Bringing change in any society takes a lot of hard work and determination to be able to inform others of changes that need to be made.