by Peter Boysen

Created on: January 09, 2009

Every year, when I have my students read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," I can always tell who didn't prepare for class. One of the questions I ask on the comprehension quiz, before we start literary analysis, is, "What prize does the winner of the lottery get?" I get answers like "$1 million" or "a new house" from the people who don't know that the "winner" of this lottery gets stoned to death.

This story was written in 1948, just as our world was transitioning from the tragedy of nuclear holocaust into a perpetual age of heightened national security worries, but its themes, about the selfishness of the individual, the dangers of conformity, and the brutalities possible even in a democracy, are timeless.

Plot Summary for "The Lottery"

This story is set on June 27th - the annual celebration of the lottery, which, in the world of the story, takes places on the same day in every city, town and village. Every citizen is eligible to be drawn. In this village, because the population is so small, the whole event takes places in just a few hours, from the creation of household lists until the execution. The townspeople gather around Mr. Summers, the lottery official, and then each head of household draws a slip of paper. Tessie Hutchinson shows up just at the last minute, before the drawing began - she'd forgotten what day it was until she noticed that no one else was around the house. Her husband ends up drawing the slip for their household, and the trickle of clues telling the reader that this lottery would be a great one to lose turns into a torrent of wrath from Tessie's mouth, as she argues that the drawing was unfair.

Things progress quickly after that. All five of the eligible Hutchinsons (their elder daughter, Eva, had married and was thus considered to be in another household, much to her mother's chagrin) now draw again, and the black spot is found on the paper in Tessie's hand. In short order, she is killed by her friends, neighbors and familiy members.

Literary Analysis for "The Lottery"

The primary literary device at work in Shirley Jackson's most famous short story is irony - the use of the unexpected. Look at the setting in the first paragraph: the day is "clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers [are] blossoming profusely and the grass [is] richly green." Nothing bad could happen on a day like this. Note the pastoral tone. However, the ending of the story fulfills the opposite of the reader's expectations after reading these

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