The Lottery- this is a classic story written by Shirley Jackson. While reading this piece, I thought that the story was about a yearly square dance in a village. I also suspect that the story was written to convey life in the village- full of fun and laughter, camaraderie with neighbors and friends and as well as growing up years of children. When I finished reading the short story, I cannot imagine how the author intelligently conveyed the irony of the situation.

The Lottery featured an old tradition in the village wherein one person in a family will be stoned to death for fun. Such person will be chosen through a lottery using the black box containing the names of all families. The first thing to do is to let all family representatives to choose a family name. It will be done until one family is chosen for the final lottery. The final lottery is the most breathtaking for them. All family members of the chosen family through drawing of lots will be allowed to take a piece of paper. The one who gets the paper with a black mark in it will face the chaotic crowd. He or she will be stoned to death by tradition. That was the fate of Mrs. Hutchinson.

I searched throughout the short story of any foundation on the lottery, reasons as to why it should be made each year. But there is none. I concluded that when a society lived blindly and failed to correct its error, unnecessary killings could be done in a legal way. In that village, it is legal to kill someone by stoning based on a long-standing tradition that has no clear basis. Sometimes, traditions are baseless and cruel. Mrs. Hutchinson suffered the stones prepared by all the villagers to stone her to death. The worst scenario is that, her youngest son also thrown pebbles towards his mother without understanding the situation. You may continue reading through Smiley Karen.