“The Lottery” By Shirley Jackson
Picture the poor suckers who first read the story in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. We can imagine it now: they flip to the table of contents and see a story, adorably titled "The Lottery." What could it be about? A sweet story about a poor guy who wins millions? A family that gets a new yacht? A woman who wins an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas?
“it isn’t right; it isn’t fair!” Unsurprisingly, this story caused major controversy when it was first published. Shirley Jackson’s implicit critique of the brutality underlying the rituals and values of America's small towns outraged magazine readers, many of who petulantly cancelled their New Yorker subscriptions. The anonymous, generic village in which "The Lottery" is set, in addition to the vicious twist the story gives to a common American ritual, enhanced the contemporary reader's uneasy sense that the group violence in the story could be taking place anywhere...or everywhere.
What is the lottery about and why should I care? "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?" And your answer was probably "No." You're not a lemming or a BASE jumper; you don't even like heights. But Shirley Jackson thinks you're lying. She thinks you—and anyone and everyone—would race off that bridge if your community decided it was necessary. According to her, while individuals may be great, a group of people is whole 'nother animal. An animal that eats its own.
“the lottery” as social commentary "The Lottery" is like the world's creepiest public service announcement against peer pressure. Everyone in this sleepy town simply accepts the fact that, every once in a while, some neighbor or other will be brutally killed. The exclusion (and murder) of one person = a bonding experience for the rest of the community. This murder day is a grand tradition—the townspeople think of it like a Thanksgiving Fun Run or Fourth of July Parade, only with a messier clean- up.
Final recap Jackson is giving us all a clear warning about the dangers of going along with things simply because “this is the way it has always been.” She's too smart to think that peer pressure is only something that happens to teenagers. Some of the most dangerous peer pressure can come from more established members of the community...and it can masquerade as community tradition
Credit: Notes adapted from Shmoop
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