My Reflections on "The Lottery"

Dear Readers of My Blog,

When you strike the lottery, you would be jumping for joy, ecstatic on having won some prize or money. This is, however, not so in the case of Shirley Jackson’s "The Lottery".

In this novella, the Hutchinson family was at stake of losing one of their family members as Bill got the unlucky lot. When the family had to re-draw to see who would be stoned, the on-lookers were wishing for it not to be the children. Since this is so, why doesn’t anyone try to break this ritual? In the end, it was Tessie Hutchinson, the mother, who got it.


In this town, superstition constitutes a great force within the people, as they believed that by performing this nonsensical rite, they could get a year of good harvest.


Superstition is an extremely powerful tool as it can destroy the lives of many humans. In this story, the people simply performed the rituals that have been handed down from generations, without really analysing it and finding out whether it really helps them. They are just being led by the nose. It is really depressing to see the townspeople, especially the children, happily gather the stones before the event. When the time comes, they just fire the stones at the victim, especially Mrs. Delacroix, who “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands”.

I sincerely hope that this story remains just what it is – a fictional story.

Best Regards,

Nathan