Conformity And Rebellion In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

“The Lottery” In the short story, “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the story depicts a theme of conformity and rebellion. This theme contributes to the literary elements of plot, character, and setting which help develop the story. A lottery is defined as a drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to the winner’s among persons buying the chance. However, in “The Lottery” the author portrays lottery as a traditional ritualistic ceremony, which symbolizes that whomever draws the black dot on a slip of paper becomes the sacrifice. The sacrifice is to help harvest crops to feed the town throughout the year. Bill Hutchinson, the husband of Tessie Hutchinson draws the black dot, which resulted in the rebelliousness and death of Tessie Hutchinson. In the beginning of the story, on the morning of June 27th the people of the village join together in the square. School was over and the children gathered

In the beginning of the story the author portrays a town of only 300 people where all the villagers are gathering in the square on a full summer day. This illustration is to make reader believe that it is a perfectly good town and foreshadows the symbolism in “The Lottery.” The author then state a narrative style describing the atmosphere as, “The flowers were blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.” This sets a mood of fruitfulness and harmony but the story ends with an ironic twist, and it is deliberately done to intensify the horror of the stories conclusion. The lottery is a traditional ritualistic ceremony and every year the village people willingly part take in the custom. Tessie Hutchinson who is a rebel, had draw the slip of paper with the black dot on it and was stoned to death by the villagers. Tessie’s death is a sacrifice which are to cultivate and produce crops throughout the year for the people in the