THE LOTTERY Essay

Their purpose of a main character is to draw the reader into the story and engage us into what we are reading; the main character holds everything together. Readers should be able to empathize with the main characters and their feelings. The reader doesn’t necessarily have to like the character but they should at least identify with it. The main character should catch the reader’s, attention, draw them in and deliver information the author is trying to convey.
After reading “The Lottery” it appears to me that the story has numerous main characters including the lottery itself. Let’s start with Tessie Hutchison. Tess’ character type is round and dynamic. Her character is multifaceted and you never know quite what to expect from Tess. When Tessie Hutchinson arrives to the lottery late, she denies even remembering that today was “the day.” Tess immediately sticks out like a “sore thumb.” She is someone diverse and her being there was menacing. On a day that the villagers’ hold sacred, Tess’ disrespect and disregard seems totally inapt and inexcusable; not attending the lottery is not an option and you must arrive on time. Because of Tess’ nonconformist beliefs, she is the only one in the village not afraid to object the lottery. The next main character is Old Man Warner. The author does an excellent job of symbolizing tradition through both direct and indirect characterization of Mr. Warner. The very fact that his name is Old Man Warner embodies tradition. He is the oldest man in town and by his own admission, has partaken in the festivities of seventy-seven lotteries. Warner is steadfast and dedicated to doing things the old way. Some of the other towns have stopped having lotteries, but Old Man Warner loathes any ideas of modification because it puts the lottery in danger of extinction. He believes that if they stop holding the lottery they would go back to living in the Stone Age; only the lottery would keep their way of life secure and established. No one in the village quite understands the justification for the lottery, which seemingly goes so far back in time that even Old Man Warner doesn’t know for certain how the tradition came into existence. Another main character is Mr. Summers. Through indirect characterization, his character brandishes a certain amount of weight that was given to him without rhyme or reason. Mr. Summers is a married man with no children, and he owns a business in the village. He is cheerful and friendly, but people feel sorry for him because his wife hassles him all the time. His influence over the lottery has never been in question nor has it ever been contested. I’m not sure if he appropriated himself to the role or conceivably someone presented it to him, but he is the sole governor of the event. Mr. Summers is bursting with energy but he doesn't focus that energy on the core of the draw, the stoning. In its place, he puts a lot of emphasis on giving the game of chance a new, more modern look by writing the names on pieces of paper as opposed to using chips of wood; he recommends using strips of paper instead of chips of wood to save space. It seems as though Mr. Summers only concerns himself with the superficial side of the lottery and not its substance.
Finally, in my opinion, the author does not reference many aspects about specific characters other than the vague description of the boys and girls at the beginning of the story, and concise depictions of some of the families; however, she apportions a huge amount of detail to the subject of the lottery, from the black box and its poor, beat up condition to the course of action leading up to the event. All of the problems in the story are centered on the town's custom of conducting the lottery. The tension between the villagers would be non-existent if there was no lottery. A contention could be fashioned that tradition is the main character because every aspect of the lottery represents a customary

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