The Lottery

In Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” all of the town’s people gather in the town square, take place in the drawing of the slips of paper, discover who the victim is going to be, and then say that they need to get it over with so that they can get on with their work. When they say get it over with, the “it” they are talking about is the stoning of the person who drew the slip of paper with the large black dot on it (summary from text). They make this stoning event seem as if it is no big deal and that killing someone by throwing stones at them is a common occurrence. They find a need to generalize and accept the unacceptable act of stoning someone. This is something that has become okay in this small town because the people fear standing up to the other members of the town and this has taken place for so long that it has become the normal.

In the small town where I live, money and who you know, says it all. If your family has money then you can basically do no wrong. People see you as the rich kid and regardless of how many times you get pulled over for speeding you will never get a ticket, or regardless of how many parties you are at that get busted you will never get in trouble. Along with the money factor is the name game, even if your family doesn’t have a lot of money if you are related to the right person, even if it is your dads, brothers, sister in laws, sister, then chances are you are golden. This and money are both very evident when it comes to the playing field, whether it be football, basketball, or soccer it doesn’t matter. In this small town, it has become okay to throw money at any situation and it will become better for those who are related to the money giver. Money and names have become so involved in athletics that even if you are the best player on the team, there is no guarantee you will ever see the playing field.