Short Story Summary
Shirley Jackson opens her story “The Lottery” by explaining to the reader how beautiful the day is. However, a sudden feeling of impending doom looms over when the narrator explains that, “the feeling of liberty sat uneasy on most of them”. The story develops with a village of people gathering at the center square, which signifies that something of importance is taking place. Consequently, the read discovers that today is the day of the annual lottery.
In the middle of the crowd walks Mr. Summers carrying with him an antiquated and worn black wooden box. Through the narrator and by conversations of the villagers the reader can deduce that the lottery has been going on since the settlement of the village and every person in the population takes it very seriously. The subsequent paragraphs provide details about the process of the lottery and how it has changed over the years and lost some of its tradition. What is not lost is the significance of the Lottery, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”. The people of the village believe the sacrifice of the lottery leads to a bountiful harvest.
Once the entire village is assembled and Mr. Summer’s has gone through the formalities of the ceremony her begins calling people up to the wooden box to choose a piece of paper. Only the head of the household is allowed to participate in the lottery, which means mostly men, except for the rare occasions where the father is ill or disabled and not able to participate in the drawing. Only after every piece of paper is taken can the recipients unfold the paper and see if they have been chosen. This year Bill Hutchinson has the black dot on his piece of paper. Under much protest from Tessie Hutchinson, Bill’s wife, the lottery proceeds with its next phase.
The paper with the black dot is placed back in the box along with enough pieces for everyone on Bill Hutchinson’s family. The lottery is conducted the same way it was when the entire village was involved, now it’s only one family. When the family members look at his or her paper it is Tessie, the mother, who has the black dot on her paper. The story ends with Tessie moving to an open field and bracing for what comes next. The last image is Tessie pleading that the lottery isn’t fair, however her words fall on deaf ears and the ritualistic stoning takes place.
