The Lottery By Shirley Jackson: The Inhumane Nature Of Human
Everyone has their own view on human nature and the reasons why human beings are the way they are. People are constantly hurting each other and violating each other without remorse or understanding of why. An example would be The lottery, which is an event in which the people of a town come together and choose one person from one family to be stoned to death. In "The Lottery" Shirley Jackson first depicts the town and its people as normal and pleasant, then slowly reveals the true gruesome nature of the Lottery, to initially mask but then to emphasize the barbarity of human nature.
Shirley Jackson first depicts the town and its people as normal and pleasant by creating a happy and typical setting, giving the townspeople stereotypical roles and behaviors, and making the lottery seem like a normal tradition. Shirley Jackson first depicts the town and its people as normal and pleasant by creating a happy and typical setting. The day the lottery took place was described as “clear and sunny” and “the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. ” The town has a description not much different from any other, which includes “the square, between the post office and the bank. ” The bright and sunny theme provides a pleasant setting and the description of the town allows the reader to assume that the town is normal. By giving the townspeople stereotypical roles and behaviors, the townspeople are seemingly normal to the reader. In the beginning of the story, the children “gathered together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play. ” When the women showed up, they “exchanged bits of gossip”. By giving the children the cheerful and playful personalities like most children would have, and making the women gossip to each other which is typical as well, Shirley Jackson makes the townspeople seem like normal people. Shirley Jackson also made the town and its people as normal by making the lottery seem like a short and simple tradition. The lottery was said to only take “less than two hours” which would give families time to go home and eat dinner. The lottery was conducted by Mr. Summers, who also helped with “square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program. ” The lottery being short allows the reader to believe that the lottery isn't different from many other traditions, and the lottery being compared to square dances or a Halloween program makes the lottery seem like a fun event families should participate in. Shirley Jackson slowly reveals the gruesome nature of the lottery, to initially mask but then to emphasize the barbarity of human nature by having the lottery be an event that has been going on for a while even though people are unsure why, showing how people are only worried about themselves, and using stoning as the method of murder.
In the story, Shirley Jackson reveals how the lottery has been going on for a long time. In the story when the families are being chosen, Old Man Warner says “Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery. ” The lottery has been going on for longer than that since in the beginning of the story, it is said that “the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner. ” This shows that the lottery is a tradition that has been in place before everyone in the village was born, which means that nobody is completely sure why the lottery continues to be held. Shirley Jackson also describes people as barbaric due to their selfishness and how people only worry about situations that involve themselves. When Tessie realizes the Hutchinsons were chosen, she immediately says that they “didn't give him time enough to choose. ” When Tessie realizes that she was the one who was to be stoned to death, she claims that “It isn't fair, it isn't right. ” Tessie resisting being stoned to death shows how she only worries about herself, since before she was chosen, she was cheerful and jocular, which means she wouldn’t have cared if she wasn’t the one who was chosen. People are barbaric since they use the method of stoning to death instead of using any other method to exile someone. After Tessie was chosen, it is stated in the story that the villagers “still remembered to use stones. ” It is confirmed that she is being attacked by the stones when it is stated that “a stone hit her on the side of the head. ” This shows how instead of using any painless or humane method of murder, the villagers all come together to use stones, which is a long, painful process.
By making the town and its people seem normal and pleasant, then slowly reveals the true gruesome nature of the Lottery, Shirley Jackson initially masks, then emphasizes barbarity of human nature. Jackson believes that that people will follow traditions even though they don’t know where it was started and why. By showing how people will kill others without knowing why and using the method of stoning to death, it is also shown that she believes people are naturally barbaric and are born the way they are, and even though they are human beings, their behaviours are inhumane.
