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Forum: Recommended Reading
Topic: Shirley Jackson

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Message to Edit: HTML is OFF UBB Code is ON Smilies Legend	Originally posted by mjardin on 04-03-2002 10:31 AM I liked this story and, in the way a good short story should, I thought about it often after reading it. I even told it to a few people. It made me reflect on my own selfishness in relation to the society around me. The lottery, a short story about a small town and a long-standing tradition, gives us a universal look at how inhumane people can sometimes be. An immediate atmosphere is created in the first paragraph that it is a nice sunny day. There is also information on the long-standing tradition of the lottery and the smallness of this town. Then the characters are introduced. The characters are first presented in groups. First come the children with their talk of school, then the men of the town talking of work and politics, then the wives who are trading bits of gossip. They appear to be common small town people cheerfully gathering for a community event. As the plot continues along with the gathering of the people, the setting up of the box, the swearing in of Mr. Summers, the atmosphere begins to change. The crowd is hesitant and tension is beginning to show. Individual characters are presented. Good natured Tessie Hutchinson represents a typical good housewife, Mr. and Mrs. Adams represent the younger generation and the possibility of change, Old Man Warner the elder generation and resistance to change. As the lottery continues Mrs. Hutchinson mood and manner swiftly changes as she realizes that she has won the lottery! The theme of the story begins with a cheerful crowd then tension builds as the lottery is played out. Then when each individual (with the exception of Tessie) realizes that they did not win the lottery, they are more than cheerful to stone one of their fellow citizens to death glad in the fact that it isn’t them. Tessie herself started out with these same emotions until she finds that she has won the lottery and then she represents the horror and unfairness at the situation. This theme is often true in life. People tend to be selfish and self-centered in thinking that bad things won’t happen to them and we often have the feeling (although we don’t admit it out loud) that “I’m glad it’s not me”. And some of us stand back and watch as unpleasant things happen rather than using the effort to try and change them. melissa Hardin

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