“The Lottery”
by Shirley Jackson
from the July 27, 2020 issue of The New Yorker
originally published in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” was originally published in June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. It sparked an outrage that led to hate mail and cancelled subscriptions. By the time I came around to it in the late 1990s, it was assigned reading in my small town high school. The magazine has published it again as part of their archival issue entitled Voices of American Dissent.
I remember the first time I read this story. As I said above, I was in high school (and it was one of the only works of literature assigned that was by a woman writer). “The Lottery” captivated me. I remember reading as fast as I could to find out just what was going to happen. Since then, I’ve seen the premise played out in one form or another time and time again as dystopian fiction exploded. Still, Jackson may have done it best. I’ve read it a few times since, most recently in a graphic novel form that was published a few years ago.
So what do you think of this classic short story? Is this your first experience with it or with Jackson’s work? I’m curious of your thoughts. For those who have read it before, does it hold up? I look forward to seeing what you all think!
Just finished reading, and wow! A suspenseful buildup to a surprising ending. What strikes me, looking back, is the ordinariness of it all. The comments of the townspeople were those of ordinary people making the same mundane conversation they always have, as they await a ritual that has been taken as a given for more than seventy-seven years. Despite the ominous pile of stones, I naïvely joined in the anticipation, expecting a valuable prize for some lucky winner. Jackson provides another clever hint of foreboding when Mrs. Dunbar urges her son to run home and tell his father, who’s laid up with a broken leg, that they lost the drawing. She wouldn’t have bothered if losing weren’t such a relief.
The story is about casual, perhaps banal, cruelty, but also random cruelty. As a metaphor for social life I’d say the former is more common than the latter. But as a metaphor for life, the randomness works. I find it interesting that Jackson chose a wife to be the victim. 1948 was a time when women had given up their wartime jobs and volunteer work and turned to keeping house and raising children. Is she making a statement about the martyrdom of women? Or perhaps it is a postwar reflection about the horrors of scapegoating. There is a drop of hope in the speculation that young people may do away with this terrible lottery.
This story will stay with me, and I’ll continue to think about it. I’m eager to hear others’ thoughts.
I read this recently – you might have seen that we had a bit of a short story club going with some Palimpsest peeps during lockdown. Unfortunately the club hasn’t kept going but this was our first and it was great for discussion. What struck me, among other things, was how the children were playing and joking around. This especially stands out on second read when you know what’s coming. This story does demand a second read to get all the nuances like that.
I didn’t see that read along, Colette, but it sounds like a good one! I understand the reader who reads for The New Yorker fiction podcast this week did a good job, so that might be worth checking out for yet another read!
I posted a comment (I thought) but it’s not here. Any idea what went wrong?
Hi Callie, for some reason your first comment went to the spam folder, and I have no idea why! Sometimes comments will go there if they contain a lot of links or something, but I don’t see anything in your comment that would trigger the automated comment moderation to put it in the spam folder. I found it and have posted it above. Thanks!
Thank you!
I had read this in junior high I believe. The twist shocked me. Clearly, it’s achieved canonical status,but I don’t think it quite deserves it. It’s not a bad story and the twist is amazing. But…I didn’t find all that much there once you re-read and know the twist. The idea of traditions as pointless yet stubbornly clung to is interesting, the scapegoating made me think of the McCarthy era which was warming up, and there’s clearly something about this that keeps it perennial so maybe my semi-positive response is more an outlier.