THE LOTTERY

by Shirley Jackson
(A plot based on the short story)

It was the morning of June 27th, a beautiful summer day. Around ten o'clock, the villagers gather in the town
square between the post office and the bank. We learned that there are other villages with such a large
population that it takes them two full days to complete the lottery; they must start two days earlier to make up
for it.

This village has about three hundred people, so they can start at ten and finish at dinner. Children are the first
to gather. Bobby Martin filled his pocket with stones; the other boys copied him. They choose smooth and
round stones. Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix placed the stones in a giant pile in one corner of the square.
The girls keep to themselves. The men gather and talk the usual farmer talk: weather, planting, taxes. They
seem subdued – "they smile rather than laugh." The women came after the men and called their children, who
reluctantly followed.

Mr. Summers, who runs a coal business, is the man in charge of all civic events. He oversees the lottery, and
we learn that people feel sorry for him because he has no children, and his wife likes to curse him. He came
with a black wooden box.

Mr. Graves, the postmaster, follows Mr. Summers with a three-legged stool and the box on top of it. Mr.
Summers mixes up the papers inside the box.

We learned that the original material for the lottery was lost a long time ago, but the black box is still used until
living memory. Every year, Mr. Summers talks about changing the box because it is old and outdated, but it
represents a tradition among the villagers.

Mr. Martin and his eldest son, Baxter, steadied the box while Mr. Summers thoroughly shuffled the papers. In
the past, they used wood chips, but Mr. Summers successfully lobbied to replace these chips with pieces of
paper.

Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves were in charge of creating the paper pieces. A bunch of bureaucratic processes
must be completed before the lottery starts.

We find that the whole ritual behind the lottery has changed over time.

For example, a salute used to call each person to draw from the box, but now it is acceptable for the official to
address only the person who drew.

Mr. Summers talked with Mr. Graves and the Martins for a few hours before finally turning to the villagers. The
lottery is about to start. (The moment we've all been waiting for.)

Mrs. Hutchinson arrived hurriedly and joined the back of the crowd. She told Mrs. Delacroix that he forgot
about the lottery until she realized that her children were not at home. Mrs. Delacroix assured Mrs. Hutchinson
that she missed nothing. Mrs. Hutchinson is looking for her family and sees them in front of the crowd. When
she joined them, the crowd alerted her husband. Mrs. Hutchinson tells her husband that she has to wash the
dishes.

Mr. Summers told the crowd they had better get started and see if there were any absentees.

Dunbar has a broken leg, so his wife draws for him. His eldest son was not yet of age; otherwise, he would
draw in his father's place.
Mr. Summers accounts for everyone, including Old Man Warner, then considers lottery rules. He would call the
head of the household, who would take a paper from the box and keep it in his hand until everyone had a
chance. The villagers are familiar with the rules; only half of them listen to Mr. Summers.

Mr. Summers begins to call the roll, and various men come forward to take their slips of paper.

Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves gossip in the back row about how time flies. The last lottery feels very recent.
Delacroix is called, and Mrs. Delacroix holds her breath as her husband moves forward. Tessie Hutchinson
cheers for her husband Bill when their family is called.

More and more people were picking up pieces of paper and nervously handling them as other villagers
approached.

Mr. Adams tells Old Man Warner about a talk in another village about giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner
scoffed and told him they were a "pack of crazy fools" and shared the saying about "June Lottery, corn be
heavy soon." He insists that "there is always a lottery" and that having nothing can cause "cave dwellers" and
no one to want to work.

Mr. Summers took a piece of paper from the box and called Old Man Warner. Old Man Warner told the crowd
that this was the seventy-seventh time he had hit the lottery.

After two more names, Mr. Summers allows everyone to open their slip of paper. After a momentary pause, the
villagers open their pieces of paper and wonder who opened the paper with the black dot in the middle.
Everyone realized that the Hutchinsons had drawn it.

As the crowd turns to check on the Hutchinsons, Tessie Hutchinson screams that Bill was not given enough
time to get the role he wanted. He insisted that it was not fair. Taught by Mrs. Delacroix how they took the
same opportunity, and Bill Hutchinson told his wife to shut up.

We learn that the Hutchinsons have three children: Bill, Jr., Nancy, and Dave.

Mr. Summers then directs Mr. Graves to get Hutchinson's tickets and put these back into the box. Five slips of
paper go into the box, and each family member is forced to select a slip.

Mr. Summers officiated at the second draw. He asked Mr. Harry Graves, to help little Dave reach the box. Mr.
Graves laughed when Dave drew several and told the little boy to draw just one. After little Dave, Nancy drew a
paper from the box. When it was Tessie's turn, she was subdued but still challenged. Bill pulled the last piece
of paper.

Around them, girls whispered that they hoped Nancy had not drawn the paper with the black dot.

Old Man Warner complains about how people "isn’t what they used to be" before Mr. Summers told the
Hutchinsons to open their respective papers. Mr. Summers ordered Mr. Graves to help Dave open his paper.
After opening it, he holds a blank piece of paper. Nancy and Bill Jr. opened it together. They happily showed
everyone their blank tickets. Bill opened his and had a blank sheet of paper.

The crowd stirred as soon as they realized that Tessie had a slip of paper with a black dot on it.

Mr. Summers urges the crowd to finish quickly. The villagers pick up the stones gathered earlier. Mrs.
Delacroix picks up an enormous stone as Mrs. Dunbar tells her to go ahead.

Tess stands in the crowd's center, saying it is not fair. Her son has a few pebbles in hand. A stone hits her as
Old Man Warner encourages the crowd.
The story ends with Mrs. Hutchinson screaming, "It isn't fair, it isn't right!"