The Cruel Blindness Of The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

Daniel Kalo Ms. Kaczmarek ENG2DE-01 April 11, 2024 The Cruel Blindness of “The Lottery” In society, it is important to have order, peace, and good morals to function properly. Though, in the case of the town in “The Lottery,” all of these benchmarks are disregarded, creating a brutal and disturbing scene. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the townspeople blindly follow the tradition of killing a person every year, through drawing lots. This leads to the destruction of self, community, and society, as they commit the ultimate evil. The characters become emotionally desensitized, turning on their friends, with no remorse, exemplifying the destruction of self. Passing on the tradition to the next generation not only adds to the destruction of

This is exemplified by the cheerful demeanor of everyone present at the lottery, almost as if the act of stoning someone at the end of the draw was entirely routine. An example of this is when Mrs. Delacroix picks up the largest stone, when her friend, Mrs. Hutchinson is drawn, “Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar, ‘Come on,’ she said, ‘Hurry up’” (Jackson 7). Even though Mrs. Delacroix is Mrs. Hutchinson’s “friend”, she does not show any remorse for her actions, or oppose the stoning in any way. The characters have seen death so many times, through the terrible tradition, that they do not feel any guilt through their actions because they are seen as ordinary. It is also important to note Mrs. Hutchinson’s reaction to her being stoned, as she says, “‘It isn’t fair’” (8). This highlights the hypocrisy of not only Mrs. Hutchinson, but the rest of the characters. They give no reaction when their peers are killed, but if they were to be drawn, they oppose it. The destruction caused by the desensitization of the consequences of the lottery highlights the hypocrisy and disloyalty of the