Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

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Recommended: The lottery analysis

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson has been criticized, but its longevity and durability prove it stands the test of time. In the article, “Jackson’s The Lottery,” the author A.R. Coulthard finds a deeper meaning in the story which other critics have not. Coulthard believes the story is a “parable of the evil inherent in human nature” rather than “an assault on mindless cultural conformity,” as other critics have suggested (Coulthard 226). Coulthard shows how something that most likely began as a primitive and ignorant way to ensure prosperity, evolved into a complete need for sanctioned violence and murder. Coulthard offers valid points to support her argument.

Coulthard finds that the actions and demeanor of the villagers are evidence of an underlying enjoyment in the killing. Her analysis shows that the villagers mask their anticipation for the killing under false and thinly veiled social gestures. Coulthard points out the contrast between Mrs. Delacroix and Tessie Hutchinson’s social friendship and how quickly the shallow friendship unravels when Tessie is chosen for the sacrifice. Mrs. Delacroix “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands,” which is in stark contrast to how a true friend would behave (Jackson 393).

Participation in the lottery causes the villagers to lose the ability to be empathetic and their bonds of family and friendship suffer for it. The lottery encourages them to abandon ties of love and loyalty and tap into the deepest recesses of the darkness that hides in humanity. The lottery does not offer them prosperity, but strips them of all that is good in humanity. The villagers are masked behind the evil that awaits them each year on a sunny day in June. The other 364 da...

... middle of paper ...

...kill too much to mourn inconsequential losses like love, friendship and the bonds of family, community, and humanity.

Works Cited

Coulthard, A.R. "Jackson's THE LOTTERY." Explicator 48.3 (1990): 226. Academic Search

Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Jackson, Shirley. “The Lottery” The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction.

8th ed. Compact. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 387-393. Print.

Jackson, Shirley. "The Morning of June 28, 1948, and “The Lottery” "The Story and Its Writer:

An Introduction to Short Fiction. 8th ed. Compact. Ann Charters. Boston: Bedford/St.

Martin’s, 2011. 950-952. Print.

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