The Lottery on the surface seems
like a joyous event that brings the community together. The feelings associated
around a lottery is good fortune and wealth. In this story however I found the
word choice interesting which leads the leader to assume that this is a story
about a person who wins the lottery and benefits from it. The inverse is
obviously true which begs the question as to why Shirley Jackson chose to call
this the lottery. I think this was the case to fully immerse the reader into
the work before pulling the rug from under them and explaining what was
happening beyond our preconceived notions.
Something that stood out for me was
how the villagers all believed that this practice was just. This collective
mentality led them to do terrible things to people. It was the norm, and to be
abnormal is seen as bad. Even when there were protests about this practice, it
only came after she was negatively affected. This yearly occurrence was not
spoken out about by Tessie, but when her time was called she was rightfully
against it. She was able to fully understand the wrongness once she was in the
same place of those who were wrongfully stoned before her.
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