![]() ![]() The anonymous, generic village in which "The Lottery" is set, in addition to the vicious twist the story gives to a common American ritual, enhanced the contemporary reader's uneasy sense that the group violence in the story could be taking place anywhere.or everywhere. (Check out the Encyclopedia Britannica for more on the tale's publication history.) Shirley Jackson's implicit critique of the brutality underlying the rituals and values of America's small towns outraged magazine readers, many of who petulantly cancelled their New Yorker subscriptions. ![]() Unsurprisingly, this story caused major controversy when it was first published. "The Lottery" doesn't end with a joyous winner screaming, "I'm going to Disneyland!" It ends with a desperate woman screaming, "It isn't fair, it isn't right." As in, killed by fellow townspeople throwing stones until the victim's skull is crushed. It's about a small Vermont town that holds a lottery to determine who.will be ritually stoned to death. Innocence is lost.īecause " The Lottery" ain't about that kind of lottery. They flip to the table of contents and see a story, adorably titled "The Lottery." What could it be about? A sweet story about a poor guy who wins millions? A family that gets a new yacht? A woman who wins an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas?Īnd then they start reading. We can imagine it now: a literary lad in a Don Draper fedora or a bookish lass in a crisp knee-length skirt. The poor suckers who first read the story in the Jissue of The New Yorker. ![]()
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