Analysis of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”
Jackson’s story was first published on June 26, 1948 in an issue of The New Yorker
The setting of the story is a fictional rural town
The main characters in the story are Tessie, her husband, their three children, Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves,
and Old Man Warner
A few of the minor characters are Mrs. Dunbar, Mrs. Delacroix, and the Watson boy
The theme is twofold, which encompasses tradition and ritual
Another theme could also include sacrifice
The once-a-year lottery in this town is a tradition that all of the townsfolk partake in it
Old Man Warner, a resident, claims to have been in the lottery for 77 years
When other individuals from the community tell him about how other towns nearby are “quitting” the
lottery, he admonishes them, saying they are “fools” and accuses them of “listening to the young people”
Tessie seems lighthearted at first about the lottery but her attitude quickly changes when her husband Bill
“wins” the lottery
She becomes upset and pleads with Mr. Summers and everyone else in the crowd that her husband was
not given the opportunity to choose the piece of paper he wanted
There is evidence of foreshadowing in the story, which involves the children gathering stones in piles and
putting them in their pockets
By the end of the story, after Tessie draws the “winning” ticket out of her family's lottery, her neighbors,
friends and even her family stone her to death
Jay A. Yarmove’s 1994 article in The Explicator offers insight into Jackson’s story
He states:
“Not only do time and place bear important clues as to the allegorical meaning of ‘The Lottery,’ but the
very names of the characters are laden with significance. The prominent names--Summers, Adams,
Graves, Warner, Delacroix, and (most obviously) Tessie Hutchinson--have much to tell us. For the season
of the lottery is summer, and the larger scope of this work encompasses mankind in general (for instance,
‘Adam’ means ‘man’ in Hebrew) (The Explicator, 1994, pp. 242-45).
“Graves’ sounds a somber, forewarning note of what will happen to Tessie, and the oldest man in town,
Old Man Warner (the others have either died or been killed off warns us about the primordial function of
the lottery, which is to ensure fertility: ‘Used to be a saying about Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’
(215). Mrs. Delacroix’s name alludes to the pseudo-crucifixion of Tessie” (pp. 242-45).
“It is the irony that lies behind the protagonist’s name, Tessie Hutchinson that magnifies the allegorical
force of this story. Historically, there really was a well-known New England Hutchinson--Anne
