It is a story about society, traditions and the way we follow them just because generations before us have. In general, a tradition is something that's been handed down from generation to generation. We often go along with them without questioning the meaning or perhaps even changing them for our own conveniences. Let's take for example our traditional holidays of Easter and Christmas; originally, these were religious holidays. These traditions were meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the rising of Jesus from the tomb after his death. What are these traditions today? They have changed and become commercially oriented with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Do we question this? Maybe some do, but for the most part, we just go along with it. Many of us have taught our own children to decorate the Christmas tree, or the Easter eggs. We may still put a manger under the tree, or put chocolate crosses in the Easter basket. Most of us have probably not taken the time to explain why. This is comparable to the way they give little Davy Hutchinson a few pebbles (228) training him to carry on the tradition for future

lotteries. In "The Lottery", people of the village blindly follow an outrageous tradition and are apparently numb to the violence it entails. Jackson uses the setting and symbols almost as contrasts to each other to establish this theme. The setting is used to lead you to believe the exact opposite of what is about to take place. They symbols in the story however, foreshadow exactly what is about to take place.

Jackson supplies us with plenty of irony throughout her story. There is a sense of uneasiness among the villagers, all except Tessie Hutchinson. Tessie comes to the square late and makes light of it. She states, "Clean forgot what day it was." (222) This statement also shows her lack of taking the lottery seriously. It is ironic how Tessie is so laid back while the rest of the town is nervous and uneasy. "She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd." This sentence foreshadows the eventual fate of Mrs. Hutchinson. There is apprehension among the villagers as they wait for their neighbors to draw the lottery slips. Mr. Summers calls out "Harburt.... Hutchinson." (225) Mrs. Hutchinson replies, "Get up there, Bill." This is another social structure error on the part of Mrs. Hutchinson and yet more foreshadowing as to her fate. Tessie is egging her husband on, rushing him, ironically when her name is chosen she is the first to yell things are unfair. Mrs. Delacroix is Tessie's friend yet she is the first one who grabs a boulder, not a stone that requires two hands to lift and encourages everyone to commence stoning Tessie. Little Davy Hutchinson is even in on the stoning. Harry is instructed to help little Davy with drawing his slip and holding it for him, indicating he is too young to do this for himself. Yet, they give little Davy the pebbles to throw at his mother himself.

The social structure of the village is a crucial factor in the outcome of the lottery. The way in which the villagers gathered for the lottery said a lot about the social structure. The children assembled first. Even within the children's gathering, there is a set structure. The boys are gathering the stones, working if you will. The girl children stood to the side, faded into the background indicating where their place will be as they grow up. Next, came the men standing together making casual conversation but standing away from the stones. Last to gather in the village, and last in the social structure, are the women. As Mrs. Hutchinson makes her way through the crowd to her place by her husband, some of the villagers make comments just loud enough to be heard above the crowd. "Here comes the Missus, Hutchinson," (224) and "Bill, she made it after all." (224) These statements refer again to the social structure of the village. They barely acknowledge Mrs. Hutchinson herself, these comments are direct

Some common words found in the essay are:
Davy Hutchinson, Dickie Delacroix, Missus Hutchinson, Joe Summers, Hutchinson Tessie, Adams Warner, Lottery Jackson, Jackson's Lottery, Easter Bunny, Harburt Hutchinson, social structure, little davy, pieces original, jackson's story, official lottery, little davy hutchinson, original tradition, jackson makes, black box, bits pieces, giving lottery, bits pieces original, summers conducts lottery, village social structure, social structure village,
Approximate Word count = 1947
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)