The Lottery

Shirley Jackson the author of ‘The Lottery’ demonstrates the pressures of tradition throughout the story. Plot structure, the title and its relevance to the narrative, and symbolism are utilised during ‘The Lottery’.

Each year a ritual takes place where one person is stoned to death, in order to be sacrificed to their god. They believed by offering someone to their god, their lives will be better off in many ways, eg. their crops will yield more food. They will experience more good fortune. Quote pg. 239 “lottery in June corn be heavy soon”.

Each individual in the community-from little boys and girls to the elderly-are expected to conform to this lottery, as a sign if presence in their society, and to also show they still believe in the tradition of the lottery. Yet not all people in the community agree with the tradition but are pressured by the majority. This is shown where a few of the villagers are nervous and even scared when selecting their piece of paper ...