“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader

to think of positive outcomes. This description of the setting foreshadows exactly the

opposite of what is to come. From the beggining Jackson takes great pains to present her

short story as a folk story. Slowly, it dawns on us, the terrible outcome of what she

describes. The theme learned at the end of the story leads us to think of where the sanity

of human beings lies. In addition, the most important conflict is betweeen subject matter

From the very first sentence of the story, “The morning of June 27th was clear and

sunny, with the fresh warmth......” We are given the feeling of a rural world. Shirley

Jackson tells the reader what time of day (10:00) and what time of year (“summer”) the

story takes place. This is important to get the reader to focus on what a typical day it is in

a small town. She also describes that “School was recently over for the summer”, letting

the reader infer that the time of year is early summer. The beauty of the day and the

is stressed by “clear and sunny,with fresh warmth....flowers were

we realize that it is similar to doom. Someone’s fate lies in an inanimate object, the “black

unable to stand up against behaviors that have always been accepted. The setting has set

box”. We do not always enjoy change, even if it may prove beneficial to us. The “black

theme or idea in the story. It symboliozes some type of mystery, but as we read the ending

blooming profusely and the grass was richly green.” This provides the positive outlook

The description of the people and their actions is very typical. Children play happily,

Some topics in this essay:
Shirley Jackson, Lottery” Jackson, Ms Hutchinson, Martin Baxter”, “the lottery”, Shirley Jackson’s, Ms Garrison, “black box”, abundance harvest, description setting, story setting, “boisterous play”, shirley jackson,