The Lottery Shirley Jackson Analysis

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The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a story portraying a Lottery who is manifested distinctly than what we may come to know. As the whole town prepares for this festivity, we catch a glimpse of the characters and their lives. The members of the town each gather around for the drawing of a lucky winner. Later, we come to find that the “lucky winner” ends up being none other than Tessie Hutchinson, who perishes through a stoning. The townsfolk have been doing the lottery for so long that they lose all sense of morality until they actually get “chosen”; because the lottery has been active for multiple years, other communities are changing their ways, and the characters themselves realize the moral detriment.
The exact history date on which the lottery …show more content…
“Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. ‘It isn't fair,’ she said”( Jackson 6). Tessie Hutchinson has always grown up with the optimal regard for the lottery just like everyone else. Every year there must be a lottery. Every year someone must be chosen, and every year someone must die. Self preservation is common for these humans who don’t have a problem with the lottery so long as they do not get “chosen”. Tessie is going through the exact realization at this particular moment. Her whole life she has been going through these motions. However, the gravity of the situation is evermore present in this situation. When she states that the drawing “isn’t fair”, she’s trying to find a loophole. Tessie Hutchinson realises that she is going to die and starts making excuses-clinging to her life.
Through the perilous journey of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the audience came to uncover multiple realizations. The audience was given insight on the characters, backgrounds, and history of the lottery. The impact that the history had on the characters really exemplifies the morality of the story itself. From the origins of the lottery, to other communities changing their lifestyle, to a main character realizing the severity; the audience can reflect on the unethical values of that civilization. Only then
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