THE
LOTTERY
Title: The lottery
Author: Shirley Jackson
Gebre: Shorts Story/Fiction/Social
Reading strategies:
Title-based prediction
Understading authors purpose
Reding aloud
Narretive structure analisis
Synopsis
Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is a short story set
in a small rural collage. Where the townspeople
gather anually to participate in a mysterious and
traditional ritual known as The Lottery. What
begins as a seemingly normal summer day quickly
reveals disturbing truth about conformity,
tradition, and collective violence.
Main idea
The Lottery tells the story of a small village where
every year on June 27th, the residents participate in
a tradition called “the lottery.” Although it seems like
a normal and cheerful event at first, it is soon
revealed to be a violent ritual in which the person
chosen is stoned to death by the community. This
year, Tessie Hutchinson arrives late and initially
takes the lottery lightly, but when she is selected as
the “winner,” she protests and asks for fairness.
However, no one listens to her—not even her own
family, who join in the execution. The story
highlights how traditions can perpetuate violence
and how people blindly follow rules even when they
cause harm.
complementary idea
The story critiques the danger of blindly
following traditions, showing how violence
becomes normalized in a community. Every
year, on the morning of June 27th, in the
village square, families gather and participate
in the stoning as if it were a normal act. This
demonstrates how custom and social
pressure can dehumanize people and turn
them into accomplices to cruel acts.
Message of the story
The Lottery serves as a powerful critique of
how societies can accept cruel practices simply
because they are longstanding traditions.
Shirley Jackson reveals how conformity and
unquestioning obedience can strip away
humanity, making even the most horrific acts
seem normal and justified. The story
encourages us to reflect on the importance of
questioning customs and the dangers of blindly
following rules that harm others.
Structure of the Text
• Beginning: A bright summer morning; the
villagers gather cheerfully.
• Development: The black box is prepared,
and the names are drawn.
• Climax: Tessie is chosen and begins to
protest.
• Ending: The community stones Tessie to
death.
Setting
The story takes place in a small rural town.
The weather is sunny and calm, and people
seem friendly. This calm and cheerful
environment creates a contrast with the
violent ending. The setting is key to
generating surprise and shock in the reader.
Main characters
• Mr. Summers: Organizer of the lottery. He
represents authority and tradition.
• Tessie Hutchinson: The victim. Her reaction
represents the voice of rebellion and injustice.
• Old Man Warner: He defends the tradition blindly.
• Mr. Graves: Symbol of routine and passive
complicity.
personal conclusion
The Lottery is a brilliant and disturbing short
story. Its plot seems simple but contains a deep
social critique. The ending is shocking and makes
us reflect on how people can become part of
injustice simply by following the crowd. It is a call
to question everything we consider "normal" and
to defend justice, even when it means breaking
tradition.
