Response to "The Lottery" (Laura)

I first remember reading the lottery when I was in my sophomore year of high school. I don’t remember a lot of the other stories we read that year but the “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson has stuck with me. In this story a town lottery is being drawn and instead of the prize of money the winner gets stoned to death. The men, women and children all believe that the sacrifice of a human being will bring their town a good crop season. In my personnal opinion I think Shirley Jackson was trying to say that in life people are dealt a hand that isn’t particularly fair. Even though the lottery is this equal form of picking someone out for sacrifice, death in reality is rarely given fairly to people. Often it seems random, never really knowing when your time is up.

I almost forgot how frightening this story is when you first read through it after not having read it in such a long time. The way it is initially written makes the story have that shock factor tricking you by starting off describing what a beautiful day it was “clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green.” Its even stated that when the lottery was done with the villagers would have enough time to get home for dinner giving you the impression that someone wasn’t going to be brutally stoned to death. I mean kids were playing together and mundane conversations were taking place among the villagers.

The way people just stood around a let this happen to this woman definitely shocked me. People in the story didn’t question the age old tradition, accepting this brutal ritual that can be bestowed on anyone regardless of your age in town. I guess in a way we all stood idly by at one time as something that could have been prevented was occurring. Especially as children, no one has gone through the New York Public school system without witnessing the bullying of a child by another. Many times we stood back and ignored it not wanting to get involved and accepted it. After reading this story it makes you question yourself and whether you would stand up and say something or pick up a stone and join in. At the end as Mrs. Hutchinson is surrounded by the very same people not hours before were her friends and shouts “It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her” haunts you as along with the image of her horrible end. I remember picturing myself in her position and asking what if this was a normal custom in today’s society.

I’m not really sure I would change anything about the story because it does everything a story should do. It draws in the reader, shocking them and making them think about it long after their done reading it. I think it says a lot about Shirley Jackson and the fact she was able to write a story that people remember long after escaping high school.