The Lottery

A detailed Summary of The Lottery

"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson (1948) is presented with the contention that the

town is extremely superstitious, the townspeople adhere to tradition unconsciously out of

habit as a consequence the leaders participate in a conspiracy to control the community

which is a clear argument of the misuse of tradition to control the townspeople.

The story, told in past tense, and uses a third person as the narrator. The narrator

does not have a character. The main purpose of the narrator is to walk among the

population relating in chronological order the events which are unfolding. Foreshadow is

used in an ironic ending. Furthermore the narrator uses strong descriptive diction to

describe the setting. "the flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly

green" (271). The aura portrayed by the narrator is that of a typical town on a normal

summer day. These images serve to give the reader a peaceful felling as well as a

Despite not knowing the full ceremony as well as the loss of the meaning behind

the tradition, it is apparent the community leaders express a great deal of interest that

paper inside the box where they will never get the wrong slip of paper. Furthermore this

Approximate Word count = 809
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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