“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson Story Notes

Chain of Command Mr. Summers is the wealthiest: he owns the coal mine in town. He also more “time and energy to devote to civic activities than others.” Then comes Mr. Graves, its postmaster. Then Mr. Martin, the only grocer in town. The box is stored in their offices; also, the slips are prepared the night before the lottery in Mr. Summer’s office. There exists a distinct possibility that the lottery is fixed.

Chain of Command cont. Then come women. Based on the women’s shabby clothing and the boy’s respond (or not) to their mothers’ authority, one can easily see the women as largely powerless. Last of all come those who cannot work, such as Mr. Dunbar (who has a broken leg) or those families with a dead father. And at the very bottom are those who rebel or question the system, such as Tessie. Note he she tells her husband “to go up there” to draw the lottery ticket. Next down one might consider Old Man Warner to be an informal authority or patriarch. He’s been through the lottery 77 times. Then comes working males, such as Mr. Adams, Mr Hutchinson. They are closely followed by their sons (who draw in their fathers’ absence).

Foreshadowing “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix . . . eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. ” *2nd Paragraph in Story

Irony The word lottery suggests that the villagers are going to draw for a prize. The sunny day suggests that a happy event is about to take place. When Old Man Warner hears that the north village is considering ending the lottery, he says, "Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves." (The lottery is as savage and barbaric a ritual as any practiced by cave dwellers.) 

Symbols The lottery: Represents a barbaric tradition. Black box: Represents evil or death, suggested by the color. Village: Represents normalcy and kindness but is really inner corruption and evil.  The Black dot: Represents mark of identification leading to death. Boys gathering stones: Brainwashing passed on from one generation to the next. Old Man Warner: Represents one who warns others not to change; strict traditionalist. Mr. Summers: Represents appearance of cheerfulness hiding evil and corruption. Bill and Davy Hutchinson: Represents betrayers. Mr. Graves: Represents death or the “grave”. Mrs. Delacroix: Represents a “double crosser.” In French, de means of and la croix means the cross. Tessie Hutchinson: Represents a person or group singled out for no reason (scapegoat)

Will the Lottery Die Out? The story presents the possibility that the lottery is dying out. For example, a passage in the 7th paragraph indicates that the villagers have already permitted certain parts of the lottery ritual to lapse. Later in the story, Steve Adams tells Old Man Warner “that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery.” A moment later, Mrs. Adams says, “Some places have already quit lotteries.”

Historical Context We also have to remember that Jackson wrote this story following WWII, in which Jews had been scapegoated by the Nazis. This period was almost unimaginable to us. Approximately 60 million people died in WWII, and the war provoked incredible violence from a variety of nations.

Tradition In part, the story is a reaction against blindly following such traditions as scapegoating. Much of the ceremony and artifacts of the lottery have been lost, such as the salute, wooden ballots, etc. Also, there is a hint in what Old Man Warner says (“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.”) that the lottery once served as a blood sacrifice to produce good crops, but that connection seems to have been forgotten.

Work Ethic and Capitalism Clearly one of the traditions of the village is the work ethic and economic productivity . Throughout the lottery, there is emphasis given on getting back to work quickly. Men derive their status from work; women lack status in raising children and lacking jobs.