The Importance Of Class In The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson

There are some people who will never believe anything from what they think to be true. In the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the small town of villagers have a day each year where they sacrifice one human amongst them, just because they have never imagined a time in their culture when they did not do such a thing. This impairs each characters’ judgment so that concepts that would normally be taken for wrong are somehow taken for right. It affects the town’s ability to grow because they cannot accept new ideas within their community. Therefore, “The Lottery” is an example of what happens when society can only distinguish two classes, specifically the working class and the wealthy leader class, which in this case would be an example

Mrs. Hutchinson is the first example of this: “Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, 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” (306). In being late to the lottery, Mrs. Hutchinson intuitively communicates her indisposition for the community leadership and the lottery as well. She “slides into place” just as Mr. Summers has finished speaking, showing her disrespect for his words and ideas, since prior to arriving late she took her time on what she was doing. According to “The Stoning of Mistress Hutchinson”, Fritz Oehschlaeger infers, “There is a strong pattern of detail in the story, then, suggesting that those who are most discomfited by, or resistant to, the lottery are women” (260). Those who do not rebel against the lottery share a silent fear of it: “A sudden hush fell through the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and looked at the list” (307). Though not overtly stated, it is clear from the actions of the villagers that they fear the lottery. Kept ignorant by their leaders, they do not push for

This is expressed mainly through subtle symbolism; first off, Mr. Summers’s states that the box to be changed, “Every year after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done” (2). In this case, the black box represents the old, grungy society, while the lottery represents a sort of election in a way. Every year after his “election,” Mr. Summers insists for the people’s well-being that “society” must be changed in some sort of