Winning the Lottery In “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the detached, objective point of view of the narrator creates suspense crucial to the plot and, through a passive tone, emphasizes how dangerous an apathetic society can be to human life. The “lottery” is the community’s euphemistic way of referring to an annual human sacrifice, however because the point of view does not reveal inner thoughts, feelings, or inner dialogue of the characters, the reader is unaware it is a euphemism at all until Tessie Hutchinson is killed. Thus, the point of view enhances the dramatic effect of the atrocity of the murder and aids in building tension which remains unresolved until the conclusion. “They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously.”