Women's Rights In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery”, she uses the setting of her story to advocate for women’s rights. The location of the story paints a small community of 300. The time that this story is written gives perspective to what Jackson writes for, with it being published in 1948. Knowing this timeframe, the reader can see how she writes from her perspective, as a woman in a time when her natural rights were infringed on every day. Finally, the lottery itself represents old traditions that have outlasted their use, which shows how Jackson sees the persecution of women’s rights in her time. She uses the lottery as symbolism, stating that women in modern times are equal to men in importance to society in all ways. The story makes it a

Stated before, Mrs. Hutchinson was late to the lottery ceremony, which would have not been easily allowed in such a close community. Mrs. Hutchinson also seems to be being treated poorly by her husband, Bill. Even when she tries to fight for him and speak against the lottery for picking her family, all he says is “Shut up, Tessie.” He seems willing to let the lottery pick his family, and later on when his wife is marked for stoning, her whole family willingly participates in her death. This combination of acceptance of the machine of the lottery, as well as signs of Bill Hutchinson’s willingness to ignore his wife, shows that the lottery does not favor women specifically. The oldest inhabitant of the village is also a man, with the lottery being run completely by men. In such a small village, there would be no easy or lucky way to live through the lottery for a “seventh time” (Jackson). The lottery being run completely by older men shows that they may control the lottery in some way, even though the lottery is completely random, supposedly only based on