Literary Analysis of “The Lottery”

( Marxist Approach)
by Shirley Jackson
The Lottery was published on June 26th, 1948 in The New Yorker written by Shirley
Jackson, an American writer. It caused controversies when it first published. The Lottery might be
a reflection of the author’s life. She had troubled with depression and identity crisis and was forced
to leave her college.

The Lottery itself is an annual tradition basis practiced by villagers who live in an unknown
small village. The winner of this lottery is stoned to death by the villagers. This story might be
strongly influenced by World War II. When the story was published, the United States was
scrambling for conformity. It was the time after World War II and the public wanted to leave
behind the horrors of genocide and war. That is where the post-war society live in. At that time,
the world was confronted with brutal and barbaric wars and terror of the atomic bombs. Nothing
fear, the war itself brought the United States became a super power country. However, the United
States also entered into the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

It seems the society and its tradition cannot be separated. The custom or tradition of the
lottery has been running from time to time. Although it is a kind of macabre ritual –that is when
someone is picked by the lottery, he/she will lose his/her life, the villagers really valued it. It is
actually a mirror of cultural values that influences its society whether the influence often become
a positive one, that is no reason for bad or evil to influence it as well. The Lottery is actually a
pagan ritual, horrific, brutal, and barbaric because the participants of this tradition seem no care to
the ritual and the significance of its tradition.

Marxism literary theory comes from the philosophical concept of Marxism, which is
proposed by Karl Marx, a German Philosopher. Marx reverses this formulation and argues that all
mental (ideological) systems are the products of real social and economic existence. The material
interests ofthe dominant social class determine how people see human existence, individual, and
collective. Legal system for example; is not the pure manifestation ofhuman or divine reason, but
ultimately reflects the interest ofthe dominantclass in particular historical periods (Selden,
1997:89).
 As from its title “The Lottery”, this story is strongly related to the Marxism. Marxism can
be defined as the class struggles. There are the ruling class (the dominant class) and the working
class (the proletariat). Marx and Engels (2009) claim that, ‘The ideas of the ruling class are in
every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force in society, is at the
same time its ruling intellectual force’ (Storey, 2009 : 16). From Marxist perspective, The Lottery
is about an anonymous small town in which a little black box controls whether a chosen person
may live or be stoned. No one knows why this lottery tradition is still being upheld every year.
This short story shows how the ruling class has a great power to control the working class through
manipulation, and they still live in a good life while others still and may be suffering forever.

Marxism works to make us constantly aware of all the ways in which we are products of
material/historical circumstances and of the repressive ideologies that serve to blind us to this fact
in order to keep us subservient to the ruling power system (Tyson, 2006 : 57). The Lottery focuses
on giving a greater good to someone. This belief leads to create a power struggle with the old
generation and the new generation. The new generation starts to question why this tradition is still
being upheld for years and what makes it become so precious among the villagers. Meanwhile the
old generation does not feel the same way towards the new generation. They believe that the lottery
has strong values and will never be stopped.

In the beginning of The Lottery, the villagers seem like they are united. Every year, they
gather in the square where The Lottery takes place in this village. As the story moves closer to and
nearly reaches the end, it will be discovered that the winner of this tradition will be stoned to death.
When June comes, the villagers must be ready for the deadly stoning of winning the lottery. It
means there will be another human life is taken for the village’s harvest.

The ruling class is allowed to rule everything they want over the working class. This annual
tradition of the lottery influences the minds of the working class, as the society will follow the rule
as it is, and sacrifice their life for the deadly lottery. The Lottery is a clear example of what happens
when society is distinguished into two classes, the working class (the proletariat) and the ruling
class (the dominant class). It can be seen through the characterization of the higher class and the
lower class from their social class differences.

In this short story, Mr. Summer, Mr. Graves and Mr. Martin are the ruling class. Mr.
Summers owns a coal business, it makes him the most powerful businessmen among people in
town. Next is Mr. Graves, the village's second most powerful government official, he is a
postmaster. Then, Mr. Martin is the third most powerful man in the village who owns the village
grocer. It makes him economically great. Three of them run the lottery because they are the most
powerful businessmen in the village. The black box is placed in sometimes at one place or another,
it can be at Mr. Summer’s coal business place, or Mr. Graves’s post office, or Mr. Martin’s grocery
if the lottery is not being run. They control their surroundings including the working class’s minds.

“The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween
program--by Mr. Summers who had time and energy to devote to civic activities.” (Paragraph 4,
Line 1) the narration shows how Mr. Summers is the one that can control the time and energy for
these activities. It means he has the absolute power, he is very wealthy. He owns a coal business,
perhaps he is the most powerful businessman in the village. It seems like he is also unable to relate
to the people’s needs and struggles. Like many dictators around the world who are lack of empathy
towards their surroundings, Mr. Summer is given absolute power over the working class (the
proletariats) by controlling all community activities in town and their minds. Meanwhile, Mr.
Graves does not have full control of the villagers. He is entrusted with some powers over the lives
of the working class instead. Still, he is counted as the ruling class even though his control is not
that really absolute.

Another proof that points out Mr. Graves’s power is “The night before the lottery, Mr.
Summers and Mr. Graves made up the slips of paper and put them in the box, and it was then taken
to the safe of Mr. Summers' coal company and locked up until Mr. Summers was ready to take it
to the square next morning”(Paragraph 6, Line 6). It can be seen that Mr. Graves is given the power
over life and death. He controls all mails in and out of the village as a postmaster. It means Mr.
Graves holds the power to control over communication. He also has a control over the minds of
the villagers. The point of the lottery tradition that annually upholds is that the ruling class
establishes control through fear towards the working class. The working class –here is the
villagers, has no power to rebel over the ruling class. They follow whatever the ruling class says
or asks them to do anything.

As Marx explains, ‘The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political
and intellectual life process Marxisms in general’ (1976a: 3). This claim is based on certain
assumptions about the relationship between ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’. It is on this relationship –
between base and superstructure – that the Marxist account of culture rests (Storey, 2009 : 60).
The base in this short story is clearly the villagers. Meanwhile, the superstructures are economic
and political power controlled by Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves and Mr. Martin. By means, there is a
thing called ideology that silently spread by the superstructure through communication. Karl Marx
defined ideology as “the ruling ideas of the ruling class” (Rivkin : 237).

If the ruling class is the one who has the power control, then the working class is the people
who only follow the tradition. They are the villagers. They are not dare to challenge the tradition.
Their minds are manipulated by the ruling class. The villagers mostly claim that the lottery will be
running continually every year, there is no way to stop it. However, there are some villagers who
seem talking about giving up this lottery thing. As Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, said
“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon... There's always been a lottery”, it seems like he values this
tradition of the lottery. The lottery must be running every year.

Some of the core principles of Marxist thought that reality can be defined and understood,
society shapes consciousness, social and economic conditions directly influence how and what we
believe and value. Also, Marxism details a plan for changing the world from a place of bigotry,
hatred, and conflict due to class struggle to a classless society where wealth, opportunity, and
education are accessible for all people (Bressler, 211).

The villagers did not seem disturbed by the lottery, they wanted to go home as soon as the
lottery is done. The death of the lottery’s winner seemed unimportant for them until one gets
his/her name appeared in the slip of paper. It happened to Tessie Hutchinson, she did not complain
at the previous rounds of the lottery, yet she complained when she herself was going to be killed.
Her name got called because it was written on the slip of paper. Here is a thing that people might
consider it as unimportant as well, when the narration tells that “Bobby Martin had already stuffed
his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest
and roundest stones.” (Paragraph 2, Line 4), the smoothest and roundest stones will cause a slower
and more painful death to the one who will be stoned because of the lottery. In the other way, this
lottery tradition seems correlating with the work. As Old Man Warner said earlier, he seems like
trying to instil the unconsciousness minds of the villagers that the lottery actually motivates the
villagers to work and work. ‘Corn be heavy soon’ indicates that if the villagers keep working hard,
they will get a better life. What Old Man Warner tells is actually about the work ethics. Ironically,
the lottery itself will end their life.

The bigotry and oppression in The Lottery is clearly seen. It happens to the working class
and the women (perhaps the children as well). It seems like Shirley Jackson implies that she is also
a lottery’s victim. Women in this tradition likely seem as the ones who often become the victim of
the lottery. Women in this story are portrayed to have the least of work ethics. It can be seen
through the narration of the story that people are sorry for Mr. Summers because he had no children
and his wife was a scold. It seems like his wife does something wrong so that she becomes a scold.
Perhaps, she was neglecting the work ethics and became a victim of it. The men power of
controlling over women is shown when Mrs. Dunbar takes her husband’s position because of a
broken leg to draw the lottery. Although Mr. Summers knows the answer and waits with a polite
expression, it seems like he silently and vaguely mocks Mrs. Dunbar who replaces her husband’s
position for the lottery this year. This is not women’s right place, yet women are pressed to do so
when their husbands cannot attend it or they do not have sons to draws for it.

Another oppression is shown through the character of Tessie Hutchinson. It shows when
she comes late to gather for the lottery tradition in the square. Even though it is still counted as
being in time, her husband and children already stand near the front. The stoning as the result of
the lottery is already predicted as the story displays the scene of Tessie is being late to the square
where the lottery takes place. In this state, Tessie represents a woman or a housewife as a rebellious
villager about the process of the lottery. She protests that the process goes very fast which makes
it seems unfair. In the end, she becomes the victim of the lottery. She was stoned because of it.
Everyone including her family witnesses her being a spacegoat to sacrifice for the village’s harvest,
according to the belief of the community in the village.

The rebellion is the way to prove that this yearly tradition upheld in the village is
unnecessary thing. The end of the tradition event will only get to a human life is being taken away.
The ideology infiltrates into the villagers’ minds. The patriarchy system wins this through the
lottery. The massive ideology spread makes the villagers cannot rebel over this deadly tradition.
They will become conscious if their life is chosen to be stoned.

Jackson portrays the ideology of this story through capitalist’s hegemony. The villagers as
the working class just accept the tradition of the lottery as it is. This brutal and barbaric tradition
creates hypocrisy and the unfairness of life. Tessie who becomes the victim is portrayed as a
spacegoating thing for sacrificing her life for the sins of her community. The unfairness of life is
portrayed when women cannot beat the men power to control the event of the lottery. When the
drawing of its lottery, Tessie states that is unfair because it runs very quick. She indicates that
something must be gone wrong. Yet, her voice was being hushed over her rebellious state.

The lottery indicates the unconsciousness mind of the working class through ideology. The
spacegoating of Tessie Hutchinson shows how the unconscious ideological mechanism plays in
this short story which instils the villagers with unconsciousness fear and manipulation. They do it
as it is nothing but a ritual tradition that yearly upholds. However, the villagers will soon realize
that the lottery tradition should be stopped, because this is very unimportant thing more than just
to sacrifice their life.

As the result of this analysis, this short story is shown a clear example of how society is
brutally divided into two classes, the ruling class (the dominant class) and the working class (the
proletariat). The ruling class are given an absolute power to control everything including the
working class by using ideological mechanism through manipulation and fear so that they will still
follow and value the tradition. The working class then follows whatever the ruling class asks or
says without thinking it might be necessary or not. Shirley Jackson conveys her idea of the struggle
to pursue social change through the characterization of two distinct social classes, the ruling class
and the working class. The class struggle shows how to create ideal society.

References :

Suwardi, Albertus (2010) “SHIRLEY JACKSON'S ‘THE LOTTERY’ : Journal of English and
Education”, Vol.4 No. 2 : 91-98.
http://shirleyjackson.org/