The Lottery By Shirley Jackson Setting Essay

Antonia White

Mrs Dorner

22 March 2024

English 9B Honors

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English writer Neil Gaiman once said, “We often confuse what we wish for with what is.” (Gaiman, Goodreads). Sometimes, when readers are reading a story, especially one with a descriptive setting, they start using the context to interpret the tone and emotion of the story. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” she uses lots of positive descriptors that would lead readers to associate the setting with a positive storyline. When readers find out that a small town hosts a “lottery” that is not about money but about human sacrifice due to stoning, it causes readers to think twice. In the beginning, readers hope for a good storyline with the positive setting given, but are confused with

For example, the setting describes “the morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green” (Jackson 1). Summertime is often associated with peace and feeling lively. The flowers blossoming profusely represents a rebirth of flowers, which typically are associated with beauty. This gives readers an appealing visual that they could associate a positive storyline with. The shift in text confuses readers because the visuals that they were first presented with do not connect with the dark and gory image of death. Jackson goes further to create a positive setting for the reader. For instance, she describes children playing outside together collecting stones and “Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pocket full of stones, and the other boys followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” (Jackson 1). This seemingly innocent act the kids are participating in seems normal to readers. This innocence slowly develops into a disturbing realization for the reader when the story alludes that the use of the stones is for throwing at Tessie and killing her. Jackson’s use of setting creates irony and confusion for the reader that makes them rethink the meaning of the

“The lottery was conducted—as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program— ” (Jackson 1). These are all events that would be used to bring the community together in a positive and fun way. Readers would not expect that the same place where these light hearted events occur would be the same place that an innocent woman would be stoned to death by her own community and family. Also, this place was strategically placed so that Tessie could be surrounded to be stoned and could not escape. Jackson elaborates on this further by describing, “Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her” (Jackson 8). Confusion is prevalent when the use of the town square is not to bring the community together for an actual lottery, but to surround a citizen and stone her to sacrifice her and carry on tradition. This use of setting by Jackson creates a very strong confusion and sense of irony for the