Domestic Tranquility And Convention In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

Widely acclaimed as Jackson 's masterpiece, "The Lottery" combines elements of horror, irony, domestic tranquility, and convention. The suburban setting of "The Lottery" is important. It was modeled after the Vermont community in which Jackson herself spent much of her adult life. The town in which the lottery takes place is described as an ordinary and pleasant community. The children were more than excited to play with each other in the upcoming summer. They tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play. And their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands.” (Jackson 1). The adults are congenial and amiable. "They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they

Initially, the reader has no idea what the lottery truly entails, which is a sanitized ritual in brutality. The “winner” of the lottery ironically gets stoned to death by the town’s people. They otherwise appear to be normal, not murderous, but this is just what they do every so often. In contrast to the true nature of the lottery and Mrs. Hutchinson 's murder, the atmosphere of the village is seemingly idyllic. As a result, the inhumanity of the townspeople is brought out in sharp relief against the setting of "The Lottery." The setting is thus ironic because the otherwise normal town is the location of senseless

In a society which should be advanced enough to reject the concept of a sacrifice to pagan gods in hopes of a favorable harvest, this Vermont village chooses to engage in this practice. "Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon '" (Jackson 3). Old Man Warner scoffs at the idea of discarding the lottery, saying that doing so would be a return to uncivilized times: "Next thing you know, they 'll be wanting to go back to living in caves" (Jackson 3). This is another ironic statement, for the lottery tradition is clearly outdated and makes no sense; advances in science and technology—even pure rationality, it seems—can confirm that performing the lottery will not affect the harvest in any way. Again, Jackson emphasizes the necessity of discarding the tradition of the lottery, being incongruous with the modern age. This allusion to pagan sacrifices also suggests that the villagers view the lottery as normal, even necessary, as it is ritualized. To the villagers, the yearly stoning is a town institution, a sanitized sacrifice; they cannot see the lottery for what it truly is: senseless