The Lottery

            It is said that there is strength in numbers. While it is true that a large group of people has more authority than an individual, a single person within a large group will almost always conform to some degree. This, in a sense, weakens an individual and results in less new ideas being introduced in favour of maintaining group status. Often, practices or ideas are accepted simply because they are favoured by the majority or have been a part of society for so long that they have become tradition and go unquestioned. In "The Lottery", author Shirley Jackson uses disturbing images to aid the reader in understanding the pointlessness and foolishness of blind obedience. .
             The story begins with young children gathering in the town square. They are laughing, playing, and generally having fun doing things that children do. Some of the children are gathering stones from the surrounding are and forming a mound of them together. Soon the men and women arrive, bringing with them a less jovial tone. The villagers make small talk laughing quietly amongst one another while at the same time maintaining a slight seriousness. Jackson makes some use of foreshadowing early in the story by mentioning the pile of stones and the way the older characters distance themselves from it. "They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed" (1). The observant reader is able to sense that something is not quite right about the atmosphere. These suspicions are confirmed come the end of the story when the reader learns that this gathering is part of a sick and twisted ritual in which members of the village draw paper slips from a box to select one member of the village. This person is then used as a scapegoat and is stoned to death to ensure a happy and profitable year for the village. .
             There are indications throughout the story that a few people are beginning to believe that perhaps the tradition is not all that intelligent and rational and that maybe, the year can be just as advantageous if the lottery were to be given up.