Shirley Jackson’s 1948 short story, “The Lottery,” tells the tale of a small village that holds a special lottery event for the entire village each year on the 27th of June (1) . For readers who have never encountered “The Lottery” before, the story’s title may suggest something positive. After all, today most people think of a lottery as an event in which people take a chance to be the recipient of a large amount of cash or some other desirable prize. However, in Shirley Jackson’s story, the lottery the townspeople engage in is a much darker thing, one that results in the death of one of the townspeople. Jackson’s story shows the dangers of mob mentality and the lack of consideration for the reasons behind rules and tradition by demonstrating how the origins of the tradition have been forgotten or abandoned, contrasting the champions of the status quo with examples of change, and showing the obsolescence of the tradition through the discomfort and reactions of the villagers.
The first way that Jackson shows the dangers of mob adherence to rules and tradition is by showing many ways in which the origins of the “lottery” tradition have been forgotten. A black box is used in which pieces of paper are deposited, one marked in black signifying the “winner” of the lottery. The head of each household selects a piece of paper, and once the “winning” household is determined, papers are put back in the box to be selected by each member of the family, the person choosing the one with the black mark the ultimate “winner” of that year’s lottery. However, Jackson writes that “the original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago” (1). She also writes about a variety of ritual that used to accompany each year’s lottery, but that “so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded” (2). In fact, no hint is given anywhere in the story about what purpose the lottery and its accompanying rituals may have had for the long-ago villagers that began the tradition. Today’s villagers are blindly and thoughtlessly performing a traditional exercise. This blind adherence by the village mob to tradition is one of the dangers that Jackson wishes to highlight.
The champions of the status quo are contrasted with those who talk about change or object directly to the lottery. Old Man Warner, the oldest villager in the town, is the representative of the status quo and resistance to change. When someone mentions the ending of the lottery in another village, he says, “Pack of crazy fools . . . listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore. . . there’s always been a lottery” (3). When Adams talks about the fact that some villages have already given up the lottery or are talking about doing so, Old Man Warner has nothing but scorn for his ideas. It appears that a rational discussion concerning the usefulness and methods of the lottery is something that has never occurred, and as long as traditionalists such as Old Man Warner remain, reason and change are not likely to either end the lottery altogether or replace it with procedures and events more appropriate for the times.
Although Old Man Warner provides a paltry reason for the lottery, saying, “Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” (3) in reality, some of the villagers no longer see the reason for the lottery or even object to it. Adams is the first to bring up the idea that other villages have already given up or are thinking of ending their lotteries, although his objections are silenced by Old Man Warner and no one else is willing to take them up or talk about the reasons of the other villages to end lotteries. The loudest objection s to the lottery are given by Tessie, first when her husband picks the piece of paper with the black mark for the family, and again when it is determined that she herself is the “winner” of that June’s lottery. She shouts, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (4). She later repeats her objection, quietly asking for the lottery to be started again because it wasn’t fairly done. As the villagers close in on her to stone her to death, she screams, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right” (5). However, by this time, it is too late. The mob mentality supported by tradition has overcome the village; men, women, and even the youngest children ready to move in and attack one of their own.
It is impossible to say exactly why the villagers go through with the lottery tradition each year when so much of the reason behind it is forgotten. It may be their collective relief at not being the one chosen for an atrocious, barbaric death that allows them to move forward in spite of the illogic of their actions. With the dark ending of the story, Jackson clearly demonstrates how mob mentality, illogical traditions, blind adherence to the status quo, and failure to examine tradition in spite of the discomfort or tragedy it causes is a dark side of humanity.
Works Cited
Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery.” Web. Accessed 24 Sep. 2013. <http://foxhonorsenglish10.wikispaces.com/file/view/The+Lottery+--+full+text.pdf/
315567956/The%20Lottery%20--%20full%20text.pdf>.
