The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson

(1919 – 1965)

The Lottery

By Arinda Saraswati Wulandari
082110080

INTRODUCTION

"The Lottery" is a short story by Shirley Jackson, first published in the June 26, 1948, issue of The New Yorker. Written the same month it was published, it is ranked today as "one of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature".  It has been described as "a chilling tale of conformity gone mad."

 “The Lottery” is Shirley Jackson’s most famous work, not only for its surprising plot, but for its characters, each of which inspires pity and horror in turn.  The reader pities the poor Tessie Hutchinson who is set upon in the end, and is horrified at others, including perhaps the most prominent character in the story, Mr. Summers.

Jackson's fiction is noted for exploring incongruities in everyday life, and "The Lottery," perhaps her most exemplary work in this respect, examines humanity's capacity for evil within a contemporary, familiar, American setting. Noting that the story's characters, physical environment, and even its climactic action lack significant individuating detail, most critics view "The Lottery" as a modern-day parable or fable which obliquely addresses a variety of themes, including the dark side of human nature, the danger of ritualized behavior, and the potential for cruelty when the individual submits to the mass will.

CONTENT

PLOT

On a warm morning in late June the 27th, to be exact, the villagers gathered in the square to participate in a lottery headed by Mr. Summers. The children arrived first and began to gather around the stone until their parents called them to order for not playing the way. Mrs. Hutchinson came late because he forgot what day it was and he talked briefly with her friend, Mrs. Delacroix.

Mr. Summers summoned the head of each household was always a man ahead into the black wooden box, in which each chose a piece of paper. As soon as people vote, Mr. Summers called on each person to open the paper and see who has been selected. This time it was Bill Hutchinson. She immediately began to protest - so we get the sense that they are not going to win a million dollars a few.

There were five people in total in the Hutchinson family. Mr. Summers put five pieces of paper in the box and each family member draw. Tessie (Mrs. Hutchinson) draws a piece of paper with big black dots in the center. Everyone paused and then rushed to collect as many stones. And the prize is hit rocks obtained from residents and their families to Tessie died.

SETTING

Time : Dated on the morning of June 27^th
        Dated of June 02^th

            Around ten o’clock

Place :        At the village in the square, between the post office and the bank.

Proven :

“The morning of June 27th … and had to be started on June 2th. … at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.”

CHARACTERISTIC

·         MAJOR CHARACTERS :

a.    Tessie Hutchinson: a housewife who had a black spot on her paper. Someone who most spirit in the annual "The Lottery" before it. This woman came in late on the annual event because she did not know what date today. Tessie is the only villager to protest against the lottery.

Proven :

“It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill."Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.”

“It wasn't fair," Tessie said.”

b.    Mr. Summers : The man who conducts the lottery an annual event. Mr. Summers prepares the slips of paper at night that entered into the black box and calls the names of the people who draw the papers. The childless owner of a coal company, he is one of the village leaders.

Proven :

“Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans. with one hand resting carelessly on the black box. he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.”

“It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office.”

c.    Old Man Warner : The oldest man in the village. Old Man Warner has participated in seventy-seven lotteries. He condemns the young people in other villages who have stopped holding lotteries, believing that the lottery keeps people from returning to a barbaric state.

Proven :

“Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live hat way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.' First thing you know, we'd all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There's always been a lottery," he added petulantly.”

“Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery," Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. Seventy-seventh time.”

·         MINOR CHARACTER :

a.    Bill Hutchinson : Tessie husband, people who called by Mr. Summers. He who explain that Tessie gets black spot in the Lottery.

Proven :

“Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.”

b.    Mr. Harry Graves : The postmaster. Mr. Graves helps Mr. Summers prepare the papers for the lottery and assists him during the ritual.

THEME

"The Lottery" plays around with the concept of family in interesting ways. Here the game forward the concept of a family consisting of father, mother, son and brother in which one of the members elected in the game then everything will be affected. Here is the outcome is death. Which death because getting black spots on the lottery and stoned by the people, including their family alone. The game is made by a small, anonymous villages that performed continuously without knowing where it came from and never intend to stop playing.

CONCLUTION

The story ends when the death of the wife of Bill Huchinson named Tessie Hutchinson exposed stone's throw from the villagers and his own family. That is because he got a black paper notes he took on the lottery. He died after he was hit by a rock right head. Tessie left the sentence " It is not fair, it is not right, "Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her. "

The moral value is from this short story we can learn how important the meaning of family. From here family is major priority. Life is like nature selection

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kosenko, Peter. “A Reading of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”.” n. pag. Web. 2 Dec 2010. http://home.netwood.net/kosenko/jackson.html

The Lottery Jackson, Shirley – Introduction.” Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Christopher Giroux. Vol. 87. Gale Cengage, 1995. eNotes.com. 2006. 20 nov 2012

REFERENCES

(http://www.amhomesbooks.com/other-works/introduction-the-lottery-by-shirley-jackson_1)

(http://www.helium.com/items/2215127-character-analysis-mr-summers-from-the-lottery-by-shirley-jackson. 20 Nov 2012. last paragraph)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lottery.20Nov2012)