“Sacrificing Others for Plentiful Crops” Human sacrifice is a part of history. Some religions use sacrifice as a way to remove sin or to ask their god for some sort of help. In “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, human sacrifice is used. Through various literary devices, such as setting, symbols, and irony, Jackson reveals the theme that humans can be so cruel to others without any extra thought. On the morning that the lottery was to take place, the weather was warm, sunny, and clear. The flowers were blooming profusely and the grass green. Everyone gathered around in a clearing and the children were racing about collecting rocks. “The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank around ten o’clock…” People had no qualms about the lottery. They gathered, participated, and some buzzed with excited on June 27 every year. The lottery was a normal thing and the villagers knew what time to arrive in the area used for the lottery. They chose to ignore all the harmful things about the lottery and focused only on the good they thought would come out having the lottery. Jackson was …show more content…
Throughout the story, one particular character shows defiance during the drawing of names. Tessie Hutchinson almost forgets about the lottery in the beginning of the story, she then jokes about the lottery to all her friends and family. However, when the time comes to draw pieces of paper and it is her piece that has the black mark on it she rebels. Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” Tessie Hutchinson is a passionate advocator for the lottery until it is her family and her slip of paper that decides she is the lucky person of the year. Irony is a main theme in the title of the story. The name of story seems very joyful and exciting until one actually reads the story and it becomes dark and