The lottery is very much a grim outlook on society. It carries with it themes that are almost moral outlooks or lessons regarding society.
Resistance to deviate from tradition or outdated thoughts, even when those traditions no longer make sense to us. One of the villagers in the story says, “We have always had a lottery as far back as I can remember. I see no reason to end it.”. The refusal to step back and examine the ritual dooms the villagers to continuing the gruesome tradition.
Mob mentality, following the crowd, sometimes leads to terrifying consequences. Once again, without examining the values and roots of the tradition, the villagers give themselves to a mob mentality. They remove any individual thought and go with the crowd.
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The Black Box
The keystone of this story is most simply put, the black box. The box is described as a small, rugged antique (older than Mr. Warner even). Jackson describes the box as it "grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained." Not only does the box hold the tickets to the lottery within it, but it holds the tradition of the lottery itself. Mr. Summers is noted in the story to have suggested creating a new box, however, the villagers repeatedly rejected the idea. This is symbolic of the change from archaic ideas, such as human sacrifice to a newer, modern tradition, perhaps one that doesn't require someone dying at the end.
While the tradition may still be archaic in its ideals, characters such as Mr. Warner give the reader insight that it has still indeed changed. The box is also symbolic of this change, as its appearance has withered away with time. Now it is no longer even a completely black box, but a stained and damaged one, much as the ritual itself is no longer its original self, stained and damaged in ways of its own. Parallels from this box can be seen all throughout the story, which is why I feel it is important to note it as a centerpiece of the story.
While the tradition may still be archaic in its ideals, characters such as Mr. Warner give the reader insight that it has still indeed changed. The box is also symbolic of this change, as its appearance has withered away with time. Now it is no longer even a completely black box, but a stained and damaged one, much as the ritual itself is no longer its original self, stained and damaged in ways of its own. Parallels from this box can be seen all throughout the story, which is why I feel it is important to note it as a centerpiece of the story.
Character Analysis
The story contains very few characters, which only adds to the eerie feeling that the reader begins to feel as the story progresses. These characters include:
Bobby Martin: A young boy introduced at the beginning of the story. We are told that at the beginning of the story, he has already stuffed his pockets full of stones in preparation for the event. He and his friends have also made a 'community pile' of stones. Bobby and his friends serve as a grim foreshadowing to the reader that while everything is fine at the initial glance, something ugly is coming.
Joe Summers: The man in charge of the black box, and the lottery. "He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him. because he had no children and his wife was a scold." Joe is close in my mind to a Santa Claus figure. This carries with it the connotation that Joe is a nice, friendly man, which is only reaffirmed in the story with his greetings to the household members as the draw from the box. He and the rest of the town are awkwardly cast into this sort of persona in order to contrast the dark secret that the villagers are hiding.
Bill Hutchinson: Husband of Tessie, the woman stoned at the end of the story. He bears a strong connection to the tradition of the town, going so far as to tell his wife to shut up when she complains about the drawing not being fair.
Tessie Hutchinson: The unfortunate winner of the lottery. Tessie complains at the end of the story that the lottery is not fair, however her words fall on deaf ears as the first stone is cast into her head and suddenly the town was "upon her".
Old Man Warner: An elderly man who has been is celebrating his 77th year in the drawing. He complains throughout the story in the typical fashion of an old man about the younger generation. Ironically, his complaints are most often about how the younger generations don't respect tradition, and that the original ritual had been lost or corrupted by the current inhabitants of the village. Warner throws the reader into a familiar place, deceiving the reader into believing that everything is fine within the town.
Bobby Martin: A young boy introduced at the beginning of the story. We are told that at the beginning of the story, he has already stuffed his pockets full of stones in preparation for the event. He and his friends have also made a 'community pile' of stones. Bobby and his friends serve as a grim foreshadowing to the reader that while everything is fine at the initial glance, something ugly is coming.
Joe Summers: The man in charge of the black box, and the lottery. "He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him. because he had no children and his wife was a scold." Joe is close in my mind to a Santa Claus figure. This carries with it the connotation that Joe is a nice, friendly man, which is only reaffirmed in the story with his greetings to the household members as the draw from the box. He and the rest of the town are awkwardly cast into this sort of persona in order to contrast the dark secret that the villagers are hiding.
Bill Hutchinson: Husband of Tessie, the woman stoned at the end of the story. He bears a strong connection to the tradition of the town, going so far as to tell his wife to shut up when she complains about the drawing not being fair.
Tessie Hutchinson: The unfortunate winner of the lottery. Tessie complains at the end of the story that the lottery is not fair, however her words fall on deaf ears as the first stone is cast into her head and suddenly the town was "upon her".
Old Man Warner: An elderly man who has been is celebrating his 77th year in the drawing. He complains throughout the story in the typical fashion of an old man about the younger generation. Ironically, his complaints are most often about how the younger generations don't respect tradition, and that the original ritual had been lost or corrupted by the current inhabitants of the village. Warner throws the reader into a familiar place, deceiving the reader into believing that everything is fine within the town.
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