The Lottery :: essays research papers

The LotteryShirley Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1948, not long after the second World War. The horror of the final solution was still fresh in e veryones minds. Jackson wrote this story to remind everyone that we are not so far from this world of sadistic kind-hearted sacrifice. She created a town, very much like any American town, with the gathering of the towns people to celebrate some annual event. She wanted to shine a reverberate on contemporary society, a reflection of humanity, or rather, inhumanity. One would think that she was protesting against the shallow hypocrites that rule the world.The town sets up this lottery in a very practical way, there were several things that were a part of the ritual that the town allowed to fade from practice. But the town still precept it necessary to stone a citizen to death once a year just because that was the way it was always done. Shirley Jackson wanted the world to try and find another way, to break aside from traditions and be mo re humane human beings. Once the heads of household have drawn, everyone looks at the slip of paper in their hands and at the same era everyone is praying that it is not their family. Once again the family members draw and each one is praying it is not them, at the same time they know that they are about to lose a loved one. Everyone has felt these same feelings. A friend loses her husband or child and we say a little prayer of thanks to what ever precedent each of us believes in , thank goodness it was not me. When Tessie Hutchinson realizes that her family has been chosen she says, I tell you it wasnt fair. You didnt give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that.(233) The Lottery makes one feel guilty for desiring ones own survival.