Author
The author was born in 1916(she actually claimed she was born in 1919, to appear younger than her husband), in San Francisco, California.
Her childhood was one of low self-esteem and a fragile sense of identity, because of her mother who verbally abused her.
Jackson attended Brighton High School in Rochester, NY, and graduated in 1934. Then, she graduated in 1940 from Syracuse University, where she studied English.
During her adult life, she was not what the society expected a “faculty wife” (she was married to a critic) should be: she drank, smoked, was interested in witchcraft and magic, was very independent and eccentric, suffering from both mental and physical illnesses, but she did manage to divide her time between writing and raising her four children.
Her major accomplishments would be her story “The Lottery,” which caused quite an outrage and controversy when it first appeared in the New Yorker; and her later books Raising Demons and Life Among Savages which gave a funny portrayal of her own marriage and raising her children, and these collections pioneered the later housewife stories.
The title
It points to the plot, because from the very beginning, all the events are merely a preparation for the main event to come: the lottery.
It is symbolic of any action, belief or an idea that is followed blindly by the masses, without being questioned and how this always leads to tragic consequences; it is also ironic because lottery usually means the person gets a prize.
Setting
The place is probably a New England village, which is not mentioned outright, but we see that the village is properly organized: it has a bank, a post office, a grocery store, a school system. Also, the women are housewives, not field workers or owners of stores, while the men talk about tractors and taxes. Thus, it is a time of women in the kitchen, while men work in the field.
The action takes place between 10 a.m. and noon, on June 27, most probably early 1900s.
The weather is warm and sunny; there are flowers and green grass.
Because Jackson gives us such specific and realistic details about the setting, she manages to make the violence even more horrifying and closer to the reader.
Point of view
The point of view is third person.
The third person point of view is very effective because it is detached and objective.
Characters
The main character is Tessie Hutchinson; the secondary ones are Old Man Warner and Mr. Summers.
Tessie arrives late, which sets her apart from everyone else, like a rebel, the only one who forgot what day it was. She was always willing to participate and only protests when her family chooses the unlucky piece of paper. Old Man Warner has participated in 77 lotteries and condemns other villages that have stopped holding lotteries; he falsely believes that the lottery is the only thing keeping their society civilized. He is the symbol od the lottery and its tradition. Mr. Summers is a symbol of the executioner, since he is the one who prepares the papers that will kill someone. His “sunny” name seems a stark contrast to what he represents.
Plot
The conflict is Bill Hutchinson’s drawing of the marked piece of paper and his wife’s fervent protesting about the lottery results being unfair.
Climax is the ending of the story, where the villagers begin to stone Tessie Hutchinson.
There is no resolution at the end of the story, only a dramatic revelation the point of which is to illustrate the irony of the world which these villagers live in.
This is definitely not the kind of plot which offers a character or fortune change, or reaffirmation of thought, because that would require the broadening of the villager’s thought horizons. They remain narrowly and blindly convinced that what they are doing is for the good of society, even if it is at the cost of a beloved individual.
Style
The author’s diction is journalistic, almost clinical, with little, if any emotion, and it mirrors the villagers’ attitude who feel no remorse on turning against their own flesh and blood.
Jackson uses a lot of figurative language, without it being the least imposed on the reader.
The story’s sensory images are portrayed so as to lull the reader into a false sense of peace and serenity, only to shock him even more at the very end.
Symbols are numerous in the story, and they help to buttress the overall themes and motifs.
Examples: Diction. The author speaks very calmly, with no emotion about the story and the tone stays the same throughout the story. Nothing changes even when it is revealed to the reader what the lottery really is and that Tessie will certainly die. The story’s themes are the danger of blindly following tradition and the randomness of persecution. The motifs are family, how it is not what a real family is supposed to be like, they turn on each other like animals, in a blink of an eye; and rules, which usually represent a world of logic and order, but here, rules are used to a bloody purpose, and to control and subdue the villagers. The symbols of the story are the black box, representing the lottery itself and the tradition behind it; the box is old and worn out, but they do not want to change a single thing about the way the lottery is conducted; and the lottery is a symbol of any idea, action or behavior that is passed down from generation to generation disregarding their lack of logic and cruelty. Old Man Warner is also a symbol of tradition and how blindly following it, leads the person to become narrow-minded to a horrifying extent.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the author is surprisingly detached and peaceful, taking into account the horrific story she is presenting. This is used to make the reader feel secure and then to violently push him into the terrifying reality of the world of “The Lottery.” The author remains equally calm throughout the story, identifying herself with the villagers, who also, do not feel the slightest emotion on having to stone to death their brother, mother, best friend or first door neighbor.
Theme
I believe the author endeavored to portray the hypocrisy of such a society; how their emotions, opinions and loyalties shift in a matter of seconds, shaped by tradition enforced on them. They kill their own flesh and blood, not being able to confront the madness of their bloody ritual.
I liked the story very much, because after reading it, it left me thinking about many things, such as imposed beliefs, the freedom, ability and difficulty of making the right choice.
I learned that it is never good to accept other people’s beliefs as one’s own without giving it a long and hard thought, because it can have devastating consequences.
Additional questions:
1. The point of view of the story is third person, objective and offering no emotional response to the action. The author provides details, such as date and time, resembling a scientific report, keeping a strong distance from the events that are about to take place. She also seems to be identifying her own personal stance about the story with that of the villagers’, they kill their family and friends with ease and no emotion, and it is exactly how the author tells the story: in an emotionless and detached way.
2. If the story had been told from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, it would lose its suspense and the author would be obliged to sympathize with his protagonists. Also, with Jackson’s narration, the readers are not certain when the purpose will be revealed or even if it will, while with an omniscient narrator, the readers know they will hear the story from the beginning until the end.
3. The story’s conclusion really comes as a surprise, but in retrospect, there are some indicators of what is about to come. For example, the children are collecting stones in the beginning, which it turns out, will be used for murder. Also, Tessie is late and Mr. Summers tells her that he thought they would have to go on without her, which also symbolizes that Tessie will soon be “gone.”
4. One of the rituals retained still today would be animal sacrifice. It is the practice of slaughtering an animal to appease the gods or change the course of nature. It is still retained in some remote tribes, and even though civilization has deemed them barbaric, they still take place, for example in Spain in the guise of bullfights, which now only serves as entertainment.
5. “The Lottery” is an unconventional surprise and horror story, because in a conventional horror story, the readers know that something uncanny, supernatural or extremely frightening is about to follow. But here, the story is frighteningly close to reality, and the horror seems to come as a shocking surprise to the reader, who initially felt secure in the warm, sunny day of July and was waiting, just like the villagers, for the main event. While the villagers’ know what is to follow, the reader does not, and this realization shocks every reader to the core.
