Tessie's Choice In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” is viewed as a groundbreaking short story that shocks its readers with a surprisingly violent ending. The story of a quaint town with a dark tradition is difficult to comprehend the first time you read it, however after further analysis its true meaning begins to reveal itself. “The Lottery” was written shortly after World War II, a period of history that is often viewed as a sheltered time in America. Women weren’t meant to question their husbands, children respected their parents, and going against the grain wasn’t as encouraged as it is today. Jackson alludes to events and attitudes during and after the war throughout the story. These allusions speak volumes about present day society just as they did when

the story was first published. Jackson’s choices on the personalities of her characters gives the reader even more incite as to the overall point of the story. Specifically I want to focus on arguably the most important character in the story. Tessie. Why did Jackson choose her to be the winner of the lottery?

Does Tessie represent someone who stands out in a society that praises conformity? Or is it her role as a mother that impacted Jackson’s choice? Regardless of how she made her choice, Jackson instills qualities in Tessie that we find within ourselves, opening up the range of interpretation so that Tessie doesn’t symbolize one emotion or person, but rather symbolizes something different to every reader.

Every one of the characters that the reader is introduced to seems to fit into the picturesque perfect town, until Tessie. “The Lottery” begins with a small description of the weather, the town, and the citizens of the town. The way that Jackson describes the town allows the reader to really interpret it personally. Everything is very plain, nothing unique or different, which is very representative of the population as well, except for one. From the beginning Tessie stands out as someone who doesn’t fit in. While everyone else in the town arrived early, “Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd.”(859) Tessie completely forgets a tradition that is extremely important to her small town, and that is where she first begins to

stand out. Maybe it was just a slip of the mind, but Jackson could be making a point about how being unique and not conforming to what the society around you wants was social suicide at the time. When the Hutchinson family is selected unlike the rest of her family Tessie speaks out in protest. However, the protest isn’t against the process or the ritual itself, it’s about the fairness of the process. Never does Tessie say that the lottery is a ridiculous ritual that nobody remembers the purpose behind, she simply says, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!”(861) So Tessie still isn’t necessarily regarded as a protagonist because she doesn’t really speak out on behalf of the tradition being barbaric, she speaks out because she wants to save herself. Some pity Tessie, which is understandable, but really she can be viewed as a coward. Instead of making a point about those that stand out being punished, Jackson could’ve been making a point about those that don’t speak out are the ones that are punished. Because Tessie didn’t speak out against the lottery until it pertained to her own personal safety, she was killed. The interpretation solely relies on if the reader views Tessie as triumphant in her death, or as a coward. However neither one is completely true, because even if one views Tessie as a coward, it’s respectable to say that she wasn’t, because she was the only one her family to speak out. A coward would’ve just stayed quiet until the end and then plead for mercy, while Tessie begins to revolt against the process as soon as her family is chosen. Tessie’s actions further complicate the reader’s decisions on whether she is a coward or a hero, because her intentions are left solely to the interpretation of the readerWorld War II is an underlying theme throughout the short story, with some references that are obvious, but many that go unnoticed. Tessie’s situation and her reaction remind me a lot of Pastor Martin Niemöller. Niemöller was a Protestant pastor in Germany during the Holocaust, and spoke out publicly in lectures about how he believed the churches didn’t do enough to help people that were being prosecuted. He says, “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” This quote explains the story of Tessie almost perfectly. In years past it’s assumed that she didn’t speak out against the lottery, and surely she never intervened in the process. She never spoke out against the lottery until it directly affected her life. Instead of the story being reflective of the conformity in American society, Jackson might have based the story on the Holocaust. If this is the case Tessie represents those that are being unfairly victimized. Fairness seems to be an underlying point throughout a lot of the story. Throughout the story Jackson is constantly explaining how serious of a process it is and how everything is very meticulously planned out. The night before the slips are made up and locked in a cellar so they cannot be tampered with, Mr. Summers has to be sworn in to make sure that there is absolutely no bias, and everyone has to wait for the rest to open up their slip of paper. All of these meticulous details are there to show how fair the actual process is, and then Tessie declares, “It wasn’t fair”(862) Just as it became evident to Tessie that the process wasn’t fair after she had been victimized, it became evident to Pastor Niemöller that regardless of religion his church should’ve been helping. The mob mentality that the villagers have when Mr. Hutchinson opened up Tessie’s paper could be a metaphor for what happened in Germany. The other members of the Hutchinson family could be representative of other races/ethnic groups that were targeted during the Holocaust. The villagers had sympathy for little Dave and Nancy, but not so much Bill Jr., Bill, or Tessie. What that says about each of the characters in the story I really don’t know, but the only thing that it connects to is the different ethnic groups and varying sympathy’s for them. Jackson could even be alluding to different countries involved in World War II, making Tessie Japan, the one who in the end suffered extensive damage from the atomic bomb. Bob Hutchinson seems to give into the process, accepting defeat, much like Germany did at the end of the war, while Japan kept fighting even after it knew it would be defeated. Tessie didn’t give in to the lottery even though she knew that someone in her family was doomed from the start. I’m not saying that one country was worse than the rest, but there was more sympathy for certain countries than there was for Japan or Germany, which would explain why everyone was relieved when the dot wasn’t on little Dave’s or Nancy’s paper. Once again Jackson leaves the interpretation completely up to the reader, allowing the reader to project their own fears and beliefs onto the characters within the story.
Tessie plays the role of the outcast in “The Lottery,” but a more important role that she plays that isn’t really highlighted in the story is her role as a mother.

When one thinks of the word mother, they often think about love, acceptance, maybe even a good home cooked meal. Mother's are the ones who teach us to always share, never to hit, and to play nice with the other children on the playground. "A mother's love" is viewed as one of the most everlasting and strongest emotions one can possibly feel. Tessie was a mother to three children, and a part of what seems to be a loving marriage. At the beginning of the story she even yells sarcastically, "Get up there, Bill." Never in the story is she concerned over the process, until her family is the one that is selected. The irony lies in the fact that mother's are supposed to be the ones that teach us right from wrong, and Tessie simply just jokes about the process as if it's nothing. The one person who is supposed to be the moral compass of the story doesn’t find anything wrong with it, so to her children the lottery is viewed as an acceptable tradition in their society. Now one could argue that they would find it acceptable regardless because of the mob mentality of the town, however I argue that if Tessie would’ve had sound morals they wouldn’t be living in that town anymore. By killing the mother in the story Jackson is literally killing the moral compass within the lives of Tessie's three children. But then one must ask

the question, was she really that great of an example anyways? If Jackson had chosen the Dunbar family, Tessie would've been the one to hand little Dave pebbles to throw, instead of someone handing him stones to throw at his own mother. But there’s no proof that Tessie would’ve even engaged in the stoning if her family hadn’t have been chosen. Maybe she would’ve picked up little Dave and told the other kids to help her with chores at the house. It’s a long shot, but there’s no evidence against it. Jackson leaves our interpretation of Tessie as a mother entirely up to us, because she gives no clues as to what she’s like. The only clues we get are her demeanor before, during, and after the lottery, the final verdict on her success as a mother is left to the discretion of the reader.
Ultimately Jackson leaves interpretation of the events in “The Lottery” up to its readers. Tessie, and other characters, is so flexible that the reader can project their personal emotions and fears into the story. That’s why “The Lottery” was such a shock to its readers when it first came out. Not because of its violent ending, but because when people read it they projected their own fears about society into the story. Reading a story that so closely reflects ones true fears is intimidating, and that explains the negative reaction to Jackson’s story when it was first published. Jackson’s story not only reflects her view of society in the post WWII era, but it reflects our own personal views of human nature, society, and what we view as being right and wrong.