Subtle contrast or irony in fiction is creative writing at its peak. For example, the values of the grandmother in Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” or the wallpaper in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper.” Often, these ironic contrasts cause the reader to reflect on the wider world around them. These are the things that make horror in literature palpable. Accordingly, I thought it appropriate to provide an analysis of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. It is a uniquely horrific tale by the author of The Haunting of Hill House.
Overview
Jackson’s “The Lottery” tells the tale of a village that is preparing for its annual lottery. Readers get a close view of the town’s inhabitants, and their rituals. It is a close inspection as they prepare for the important day of selection. A day, remarkably, that seems to be like any other.
“The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green,” Jackson writes.
The author describes the happenings of the town and the routine activities that are taking place. The townsfolk have gathered together in the square. And, at one point there s a kerfuffle over losing the black lockbox that is pivotal to the occasion. The men of the village gather and discuss the weather and the crops. Meanwhile, the women join them, and all of them wait for the event to begin.
Here, we learn more about the Lottery and the individual who manages it:
“The lottery was conducted–as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program–by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him. because he had no children and his wife was a scold.”
Soon enough, the prolonged wait is over for the village (the families want to get home before the noon dinner, of course) and the lists for the lottery are drawn. Of course, this was not unusual for those in attendance as the “people had done it so many times that they only half-listened to the directions…”
We soon find out that the unlucky winner is Tessie Hutchinson, after she arrives late to the party, who is married to the (unsavory?) Bill Hutchninson. After calling out the lottery as “unfair,” she is told the arbitrary rules a few more times before the first stones begin to fly—one striking her directly in the head.
“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,’ Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they (the villagers) were upon her.”
An Analysis of “They Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
Often referred to as a shocking story (which it probably was in 1948), “The Lottery” now stands as a totem to the normalcy of violence in communities. Consider the opening line: “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny.” It is an important and tactful intro to a story that reveals hard truths about human nature through its exploration of sober malice. For example, the men gather and talk about “planting and rain, tractors and taxes,” and the women “greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands” (Jackson). It is all too normal, and I think that is exactly the point.
For me, Shirley Jackson is remarking on the commonality of brutal, barbaric violence that had found its way into America in 1948. Although, that violence certainly stretches to our time as well. The seemingly random accusations of communism and community ostracism that plagued America arrived shortly in the 50s. With it came the violence of oppression from a random lottery of ignorance and hate.
As Jackson stated in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1948:
“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” (Haven).
Jackson took that pervasive violence and made it tangible for the reader. It is alarming because we sometimes forget that crowds of people throw stones literally and metaphorically. As such, community has the power to come together, and it has the power to kill.
What do you think of this popular short horror story? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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