SHIRLEY JACKSON

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THE LOTTERY
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Shirley Hardie Jackson
(December 14, 1916
August 8, 1965) was an
American author.

A popular writer in her

time, her work has
received increasing
attention from literary
critics in recent years.
She is best known for the short story
"The Lottery" (1948).

She is also well known for the 1959

novel The Haunting of Hill House.
One of the most terrifying aspects of
publishing stories and books is the realization
that they are going to be read, and read by
strangers. I had never fully realized this
before, although I had of course in my
imagination dwelt lovingly upon the thought
of the millions and millions of people who
were going to be uplifted and enriched and
delighted by the stories I wrote.

Jackson
It had simply never occurred to me that
these millions and millions of people
might be so far from being uplifted that
they would sit down and write me
letters I was downright scared to open;
of the three-hundred-odd letters that I
received that summer I can count only
thirteen that spoke kindly to me, and
they were mostly from friends. Even my
mother scolded me: "Dad and I did not
care at all for your story in The New
Yorker," she wrote sternly; "it does
The Lottery
 "The Lottery" is a short story by
Shirley Jackson, first published in the
June 26, 1948 issue of The New
Yorker. Written the same month it
was published, it is ranked today as
"one of the most famous short stories
in the history of American literature".
It has been described as "a chilling
tale of conformity gone mad."
Response to the story was negative,
surprising Jackson, Caleb Mann (the
local head editor at the local paper)
and The New Yorker. Readers canceled
subscriptions and sent hate mail
throughout the summer. The story was
banned in the Union of South Africa.
Since then, it has been accepted as a
classic American short story, subject to
critical interpretations and media
adaptations, and it has been taught in
Collective Mentality
The collective mentality, also referred
to as mob mentality, can be defined as
"the behavioral tendency of people (or
other social animals) to act in unison
with the group of which they are a
part. This is an evolutionary adaptation
that provides the mechanism for
collective intelligence, but also
explains how morally reprehensible
consensus can form. Behaviors range
from gang rapes and beatings to the
The specific details ground the story in
reality. Because she sets the story
firmly in a specific place and time,
Jackson seems to suggest that the
story will be a chronicle of sorts,
describing the tradition of the lottery.
The world Jackson creates seems much
like the one we know. And then the
stoning begins, turning reality on its
head. Because Jackson is so meticulous
in grounding us in realistic, specific
details, they sharpen the violence and
 Foreshadowing
children put stones in their pockets
and make piles of stones in the town
square

Thought we were going to have to get

on without you
 SUSPENSE

Jackson builds suspense in The Lottery by

relentlessly withholding explanation and
does not reveal the true nature of the
lottery until the first stone hits Tessies
head.

By withholding information until the last

possible second, she builds the storys
suspense and creates a shocking, powerful
conclusion.
 Themes
The Danger of Blindly Following
Tradition
The Randomness of Persecution
Motifs
Family
Rules
Symbols
The Black Box
The Lottery
 NAME SYMBOLISM

The very names of the characters in

the story are laden with meaning. The
names of Summers, Graves, Warner,
Delacroix and Hutchinson hint at the
true nature of the characters. Mrs.
Delacroixs name means of the cross in
Latin; therefore hinting at Tessies
sacrificial killing. Even tough Mrs.
Delacroix seems to be a friend to Mrs.
Hutchinson it is she who is shown to
pick up the largest rock and promotes
Mr. Summers name symbolizes life but
in reality it is he who is in charge of
the lottery which instead of giving life
to its winner it gives death. The lottery
is a harbinger of summer and Mr.
Summers indicates that.
Graves is the man who carries in the
black box and the three-legged stool. His
name hints to what will happen to Tessie
Hutchinson. The lottery leads to the grave
and Mr. Graves indicates that. It is also
from Mr. Graves whom the citizens get
the papers from, therefore it is almost
like he is the one who has the most
influence over whose grave it will be next.
Little David is reminiscent of the
Biblical David.

Adam was the first man and Mr. Adams

is the first to pick a paper from the
lottery.
Old man Warner is a person who
"warns" the village that if they give up
the lottery, they will have poor crops.
Old Man Warner, as his name
indicates, warns the villagers of the
unknown danger of stopping the yearly
ritual. The irony here is that even
though the old are know for being
wise, Old Man Warner seems to be a
very ignorant and superstitious being
who blindly follows tradition.
Tessie Hutchinsons character also
provides considerable information on
the theme of the story. Hutch is a
term for a chest or compartment for
storage; basically, a box. Of course she
drew that black dot out of the black
box. Her name reminds one of the
historical Anne Hutchinson not only
because of the name but also because
of the small town setting. Anne
Hutchinson was a willing martyr who
died for her religion and was exiled
from her town. Tessie Hutchinson
She comes in jokingly kidding with a
friend of hers about how she almost
forgot about the lottery but as soon as
she remembered came running. Tessie
seems to be a willing participant at the
start but when her familys mane is
drawn she shows her true nature.
Instead of trying to protect her
children she instead demands that her
married daughter take part in the
drawing just to improve her own
chances of survival. Mrs. Hutchinson is
Setting
Character
Plot
Conflict
Point of view
Theme
 IRONY

The Title

The lottery is conducted in a particular

manner, and with so much anticipation by
the villagers, that the reader expects the
winner to receive a prize or something of
that manner. It is not until the very end of
the story that the reader learns of the
winner's fate: Death, by friends and family.
explaining just what I had hoped the story
to say is very difficult. I suppose, I hoped,
by setting a particularly brutal ancient
rite in the present and in my own village
to shock the story's readers with a graphic
dramatization of the pointless violence
and general inhumanity in their own lives.

Jackson