Humanity Exposed In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a short story involving senseless killings of innocent villagers. Each year an innocent soul is randomly picked to be a victim of the lottery. At the end, the one holding the paper marked with a black dot is stoned to death. The lottery shows how cruel the world can be when people are subjected to a certain culture. The villagers are exhilarated by performing these inhumane acts and are quick to abandon their loved ones by simply following a tradition.

In the beginning of the story one can see the teachings of the children. The children are laughing and playing around collecting stones preparing for the brutal stoning to come. The story describes a cheerful boy, “ducked under his mother’s grasping hand

and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones” (638). This example shows how oblivious the children are to the seriousness of the lottery. They are unaware of the vicious activities that are about to take place because they are already accustomed to such cruelty. The adults realize the ultimate price to pay if they “win” the lottery. For instance, while the children are entertained by collecting rocks, “They (the children’s fathers) stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed” (638). This illustration shows fear within each of the dads and their conversations are forced rather than natural. By the end of the story, the lottery “winner” is discovered to be Tessie Hutchinson, a wife and mother of four children. Friends and family immediately surround her and “someone gave little Davy Hutchinson (Tessie’s son) a few pebbles” (643). This inexplicable behavior of the villagers is resulting in Tessie’s son’s participation with killing his own mother. Even a friend of Tessie, “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands” (643). This demonstrates how rational adults show no pity prior to slaughtering an innocent civilian. No individual wants to fall victim to the lottery, yet no guilt is shown by any villager partaking in this pointless tradition.
As the audience, we see villagers expressing no compassion when dealing with the lottery; jokes are made, laughter is heard and children are playing as the time passes.

The title, “The Lottery” is significant because each villager’s life is at risk because there is no discrimination towards whom is chosen, nor is that person being punished for a crime. The story is about innocent victims involved in foolish traditions. Deaths of innocent people can be blamed on the culture a person is surrounded by. If we grow up in a society where violence is a usual occurrence, then it can be assumed that a person’s values are adapted to that style of living.

For example, the Boston marathon bombing and the Columbine shooting are events that led to the senseless killings of many. Due to the social pressure the assassins felt, innocent people were killed at random. Much like “The Lottery,” life is a gamble and each day proposes a new threat. There are humans in the world who are ruthless just like the villagers in the story. The villagers grew up familiar to this style of tradition, which controls the value placed on another’s life. The lifestyle we are accustomed to influences our beliefs just like the villager’s tradition influenced

theirs.
Our culture contributes to how we view the world and its brutality. Those who follow a certain way of living can propose a threat to everyone, even if they live in a similar atmosphere. We hear of people today killing innocent bystanders, neighbors and friends for no reason. Who can we blame for these murders? The culture we live in is a helpful way to explain why some people act out against society. The world affects our behaviors and pressures us into adhering to a certain belief. The yearly tradition that takes place in “The Lottery” is solely responsible for these senseless deaths. The villagers have no other reason to believe that their actions are immoral because their behavior is learned.