Friendship In Shirley Jackson's The Lottery

353 Words2 Pages
Friends and family show extreme callousness as they join the bloodthirsty crowd to stone one of their own. Moments before the lottery began; Mrs. Hutchinson had a friendly chat with Mrs. Delacroix. However, when Mrs. Hutchinson had been declared winner of the lottery, all previous illusions of friendship between the two had been erased. Mrs. Delacroix was sprinting towards her with the largest stone she could find, excited to have the chance to slaughter one who, just the day before, she would have called friend. As disturbing as this may be, it is not nearly as unnerving as the betrayal among family members. It is clear that these families had no love for one another. Rather, they saw each other simply as pawns, which would reduce the likelihood