“The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, focuses on traditions throughout the story. The story’s overarching subject is conveyed through the employment of fiction elements such as setting, verisimilitude, and point of view. The writing is persuasive and compels the reader to go over it again and again. The narrative tries to educate readers that all customs, regardless of whether they are included, are not always righteous.
The third person tells the story to offer the viewer the finest comprehension. The storyteller was not a resident of the community who had to go through the Lottery’s rites. Obviously, the story was given from an omniscient perspective because the speaker was well-informed about everyone “…Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town….” (Shirley, 2014, p. 137). The listener gains a clear picture of the locals and their strange traditions by providing this perspective throughout the play. If the narrative were presented from the perspective of one of the villagers, it would appear to be more biased and less detailed than it is. This point of view explains the Lottery’s tradition in great detail, including how the Lottery should be prepared and the rituals involved.
The backdrop and characters depict average, everyday people gathered in the town square for an event. At the beginning of the story, there is nothing extraordinary about this day or the happenings of the day. A toddler playing with stones is not unusual, yet it may raise questions in the minds of the readers about the nature of this Lottery. The audience gets a strong sense that something horrible is going to happen as the story progresses with the Lottery’s background, setup, and name-calling. The truth does not sink in until all of the men glance at their pieces of paper, and Tessie Hutchinson begins frantically shrieking. The sorrow and desperation allow the readers to empathize with Tessie and imagine themselves in her situation. This is why, while Tessie’s family members are stoning her to death, the audience may get disgusted with the townsfolk and the story’s whole theme. The truth is that no one wants to be connected with a species that is willing to kill a friend or family member every year just because tradition dictates it.
In order to offer the reader a better comprehension of the story, the environment is described in great detail. The quote “The morning of June 27th…” informs the audience of the Lottery’s time and date (Shirley, 2014, p. 136). The time range for the Lottery is also revealed in the story. The narrative also provides the Lottery’s time frame: “…so it may start at ten o’clock in the morning… allow the locals to return home in time for lunch” (Shirley, 2014, p. 137). It illustrates the day to be a beautiful and pleasant day, giving the readers the idea of a peaceful setting. With the information about the setting earlier on, it is almost as if the speaker wanted the audience to assume this was going to be a peaceful story with a happy conclusion. The events of the day are as familiar to the residents of this town as any other: “The lottery was held – as were the square dances, the teenage club, and the Halloween program…”
The reasonableness of the events in this story demonstrates how this irrational custom has conditioned the villagers. Traditions from any group of people or religion can appear odd or illogical to others who are unfamiliar with them, but just because something is different from how one group does things does not imply it is wrong. Shirley Jackson’s goal with this narrative may have been to test what kind of reaction it would get from the general public. The purpose of the story is not how an entire village stoned one person to death but how one custom binds the community together and keeps them connected to the only thing they know: their past. The reader can choose whether or not tradition is a positive or bad subject. The power to choose the true meaning of the story is what actually distinguishes it.
Reference
Shirley, J. (2014). The Lottery. In E. V. Roberts & R. Zweig (Eds.), Literature: An introduction to reading and writing, compact edition (6th ed.). (136-137). Pearson College Division.