Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

Religious sacrifice has a long tradition in the world community. For example, many sacrifices are made to God in The Bible, not the least of which is the sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ, to save the world from its sins. In addition, we have long heard of various other religions and communities offering sacrifices to their gods to stave off various threats, such as a drought or a bad harvest. Therefore, the idea of sacrificing one for the good of many is not an unusual occurrence. However, current thought tends to view skeptically the idea that human sacrifice can serve any beneficial purpose. Thus, it is easy for the reader to see the apparent absurdity of the community's action in "The Lottery."

However, Jackson does not reveal the true "prize" of the lottery until the end of the story to prevent the reader from merely dismissing the entire story as absurd. In fact, she draws the reader in with her depiction of a small, close-knit community in which each member of the community knows one another and apparently actively ensures that everyone is faring well. She refers to the community as a "village" of about three hundred people to ensure the reader's understanding that each of these people know each other, and know each other well. We are lulled in to the vision of small-town innocence. Jackson reinforces the picture of small-town congeniality and innocence by next introducing guileless, restless ch

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he is one of the first to stone Mrs. Hutchinson. Mrs. Delacroix, who "laughed softly" with Mrs. Hutchinson when Mrs. Hutchinson was late for the lottery, "selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands." It is clear that the members of the community have no idea of the purpose the lottery serves. No special events lead up the ritual that would indicate whether its purpose was to ensure a good harvest, control the village's population, calm an angry god, or any other such reason. They apparently take very little pride in the ritual, preferring to lead preparations for its conduct to Mr. Summers and their children. In fact, by relying on Mrs. Summers they can further pretend that the lottery is nothing more harmful than a teenagers' social. They fail to realize that with a ritual so insidious and meaningless at its heart, the very notion of community is a farce. Just as blind adherence to organized religion or other social or family traditions is meaningless and often harmful when its adherents lack an understanding of what those traditions represent. Franz Kafka's "The Hunger Artist" Kafka's "The Hunger Artist" operates as an allegory for the operation of and expectations from creative artists in soci
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2110
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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