But as the story progresses, Jackson gives escalating clues to indicate that something is amiss. Before the lottery starts, the villagers keep "their distance" from the stool with the black box on it, and they hesitate when Mr. Summers asks for help. This is not necessarily the reaction you might expect from people who are looking forward to the lottery. It also seems somewhat unexpected that the villagers talk as if drawing the tickets is difficult work that requires a man to do it.
Summers asks Janey Dunbar, "Don't you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey? The lottery itself is tense. People do not look around at each other. Summers and the men drawing slips of paper grin "at one another nervously and humorously. On first reading, these details might strike the reader as odd, but they can be explained in a variety of ways -- for instance, that people are very nervous because they want to win.
Yet when Tessie Hutchinson cries, "It wasn't fair! As with many stories, there have been countless interpretations of "The Lottery. Many readers find Tessie Hutchinson to be a reference to Anne Hutchinson , who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for religious reasons. But it's worth noting that Tessie doesn't really protest the lottery on principle—she protests only her own death sentence. Regardless of which interpretation you favor, "The Lottery" is, at its core, a story about the human capacity for violence, especially when that violence is couched in an appeal to tradition or social order.
Jackson's narrator tells us that "no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. Rumors swirl about songs and salutes, but no one seems to know how the tradition started or what the details should be.
The only thing that remains consistent is the violence, which gives some indication of the villagers' priorities and perhaps all of humanity's.
Jackson writes, "Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. One of the starkest moments in the story is when the narrator bluntly states, "A stone hit her on the side of the head. Summers Bill Hutchinson Mr. Harry Graves. Shirley Jackson and The Lottery Background. Literary Devices Themes. The Danger of Blindly Following Tradition The village lottery culminates in a violent murder each year, a bizarre ritual that suggests how dangerous tradition can be when people follow it blindly.
The Randomness of Persecution Villagers persecute individuals at random, and the victim is guilty of no transgression other than having drawn the wrong slip of paper from a box.
Next section Motifs. Graves and the Martins. Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd.
Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. Hutchinson craned her neck to see through the crowd and found her husband and children standing near the front. She tapped Mrs.
Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. Hutchinson reached her husband, and Mr. Summers consulted his list. Summers turned to look at her. Summers said. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally.
Summers waited with an expression of polite interest while Mrs. Dunbar answered. Dunbar said regretfully. He made a note on the list he was holding. A tall boy in the crowd raised his hand. A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and looked at the list. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has had a turn.
Everything clear? The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around. Then Mr. Summers said, and Mr. Adams reached into the black box and took out a folded paper.
He held it firmly by one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd, where he stood a little apart from his family, not looking down at his hand. Delacroix said to Mrs. Graves in the back row. Delacroix said. She held her breath while her husband went forward.
Summers said, and Mrs. Summers calls their names, each member of the family comes up and draws a paper. When they open their slips, they find that Tessie has drawn the paper with the black dot on it. Summers instructs everyone to hurry up. The villagers grab stones and run toward Tessie, who stands in a clearing in the middle of the crowd. Everyone begins throwing stones at her. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs Symbols. Summers Bill Hutchinson Mr. Harry Graves. Shirley Jackson and The Lottery Background.
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