It is important to be aware of how Jackson uses the title
to combine with the action of this excellent and horrific short story to lull the reader
into a false sense of security. "The Lottery" makes us think of a kind of public game
where one member of a group of people is selected at random for some kind of prize. This
title, combined with the setting that deliberately misleads us, makes us assume that the
"prize" that the villagers are drawing for is going to be a beneficial prize that they
will want and that it is worth getting. Note how Jackson creates a setting that does not
in any way lead us to suspect the chilling "prize" that the winner of the lottery
actually receives:
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.
Such an innocent
beginning, combined with the townspeople gathering and the boys playing with stones,
makes us think of a town fair or celebration. However, it is only at the end of the
story that we see that the prize of this lottery is actually for the winner to be
sacrificed in some sort of pagan ritual to ensure good harvest. The lottery then
indicates the random way that this sacrificial victim is selected, firstly choosing a
family from the village, and then a member. It also may have a larger meaning of the
lottery of life, and how we do not know what we will "win" in this game of
life.
No comments:
Post a Comment