Analysis of Word Choice in “The Lottery” With Regard to Theme
By Mrs. Shoulders
Traditions help people make sense of the world around them. The repeated habits
are the reasons behind remembering what worked and what didn’t. Usually it is a positive
experience: the magic of a Christmas morning, the fun of a frightening Halloween, or the
overstuffed stomach of Thanksgiving. What happens when a tradition is carried on for
tradition’s sake and no longer has meaning or a nostalgic memory? Shirley Jackson
explores the idea in “The Lottery,” leaving the reader to conclude that societies benefit by
the inclusion of positive traditions vs. useless traditions harm societies.
The reader is introduced to the setting of “The Lottery” with these sentences.
“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.” What an
enticing picture Jackson generates! Here is a place of hope and in that place the
townspeople are preparing for their yearly lottery. Rather than use a tone of excitement
that a lottery often connotes, the people are described as going about their normal
business. The boys are involved in “boisterous play,” the girls are talking, and the men
joke quietly. This is the first clue that perhaps the lottery yields something more than a
prize.
The lottery is a tradition. This is supported by the detailed explanations of its
conduction. Mr. Summers brings in a “black wooden box,” as Mr. Graves carries a
“three-legged stool,” to hold the box. This passage contains another clue for the theme
statement: “The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the
stool.” Perhaps they don’t want to be there.
Jackson presents a little history behind the black box helping the reader to
understand that this is a longstanding tradition and its shabby condition shares the idea
that the townspeople have no interest in maintaining the tradition in style. The importance
is in conducting the lottery.
After setting the scene, the author focuses on the people of the tradition. While
there is an attempt to describe the normalcy of the situation, there are hints that things are
not as they seem. Mrs. Hutchinson comes running in with the exclamation, “Clean forgot
what day it was.” There is an intense preoccupation with making sure each member of a
household is represented. Since Clyde Dunbar broke his leg than Mr. Summers declares,
"Wife draws for her husband."
As all are accounted for and the lottery begins, Jackson returns to the idea of this
being a routine affair. “The people had done it so many times that they only half listened
to the directions.” "Seems like we got through with the last one only last week."
Just when the reader expects to hear the name of the lucky winner, the tone shifts.
After realizing that her husband has “won,” Tessie Hutchinson cries out, "You didn't give
him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair!" The phrase, “It
wasn’t fair,” suggests that this lottery is different. Tessie doesn’t want to win. Why?
Despite her cries, the lottery proceeds and again, Jackson takes her time to share
the step-by-step details that the lottery entails, helping the reader to understand this
society’s acceptance of its yearly tradition.
Each individual of the Hutchinson family returns to the black box to receive a
new piece of paper but this time Tessie herself has the slip with the back dot. Immediate
after this occurrence, Jackson surprises the reader with the outcome for the lottery’s
winner. “Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box,
they still remembered to use stones.” The villagers affect an eerily routine demeanor as
they stone Tessie to death.
When the crowd approaches the hapless winner, Tessie cries out, “"It isn't fair, it
isn't right." While this statement was uttered out of pure selfishness, Jackson uses this
final line to refer to the theme of the story. Traditions that harm society are not fair and
definitely not right.