The Lottery. Shirley Jackson.

The Lottery. Shirley Jackson. 1948. 11p.

Synopsis:

In a small American town, the local residents are abuzz with excitement and nervousness when they wake on the morning of the twenty-seventh of June. Everything has been prepared for the town’s annual tradition—a lottery in which every family must participate, and no one wants to win. 

The Lottery stands out as one of the most famous short stories in American literary history. Originally published in The New Yorker, the author immediately began receiving letters from readers who demanded an explanation of the story’s meaning. The Lottery has been adapted for stage, television, radio and film. 

Opinion:

Impactful.

The end of The Lottery of Shirley Jackson is so explicit that it has left me reflecting on the weight that traditions have on societies, the consented violence - both towards people and towards animals - for the supposed maintenance of the collective good and at the same time, it shows us how the characters in the story have no criteria to evaluate, analyse and decide on what is right or wrong.