The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, is about a small-minded village that savors on tradition. The town holds a lottery once a year where all the families gather around in a big crowd in the Village Square. The lottery is conducted by Mr. Summers, a man who often leads the town's activities such as square dances, Halloween parties, charities, etc. In the crowd, wives gabber about the daily gossip. Fathers chat about tractors, crops, and taxes, while the kids playfully gather small smooth stones, piling them in a clearing behind the crowd. Mr. Summers calls their attention to get the lottery started, and the scattered family members hurry about and find each other. Mr. Summers brings out an old black box that has been used for the lottery even before Old Man Warner (the oldest man in town) was born. Back in the days when the village was a lot smaller, pieces of wood chips were used to put in the box. However, since the village ws growing, they discovered to use paper slips instead. Mr. Summers mixed up the paper slips in the box with his hand while reciting some long ritual that had been used ever since the lottery was founded. During the recital, kids looked innocently about, the voice
of people talking was kept at a low whisper, but the majority held their tongue with heavy nervous thoughts on their mind. Finally, Mr. Summers started calling out each family's name that lived in the village, having the head of each family put their hand in the box and tightly grab a slip of paper which was not to be opned until each family had received their slips. Once the papers were distributed, the families opened their slips. An uproar of questions about whom had "gotten it" came swiftly through the crowd. In a matter of minutes, it was found that the Hutchinson family picked the plain white slip with the coal-black dot drawn in the center. I would have liked Shirley Jackson to have explained more about how the town operated and to be given a description about what the throwers were thinking when they held the stone in their hands. Did they know it was morally wrong, but felt no completion to stop it because they weren't the victims this year? Could the villagers be oblivios to the fact that they might get that fatal slip one-day? Maybe they accepted that someone is picked for the lottery every year, but when their time comes, they'll decide to speak up, just like Terri did. But at that time, they will be spared. In every part of the world, there are different cultures, beliefs, and ways of doing things. Old traditions die hard, especiallyfor a small village of only three hundred people. Who k
Some common words found in the essay are:
Shirley Jackson, Hutchinson Terri, Village Square, Finally Summers, Terri Hutchinson, shirley jackson, lottery shirley jackson, Lottery Shirley, lottery shirley, slips box, paper slips, black box,
Approximate Word count = 959
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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