Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" has several different conflicts that can be related to in the story. However, the main central conflicts that seems to be focused on throughout the whole story is individual versus society. Although individual plays a significant part, I conclude that society is shown to be much more dominant. Tessie Hutchinson doesn't want to believe that her husband, and then later she herself, have been chosen for the Lottery, She hopes the town will show mercy for her and her family but due to them believing in their tradition, they shut her down. .
In the middle of the story, Mrs. Hutchinson with "her sweater thrown over her shoulders" states, "Clean forgot what day it was" to Mrs. Delacroix while "they both laughed softly" as if it really was just a clear and sunny summer day (Jackson par. 9). Mrs. Hutchinson continues with, "and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty- seventh and came a-running" (Jackson par. 9). Although the town seems to dread this day every year she seems to act like she forgot because in previous years her family wasn't the one that got picked for the lottery. At this point in the story Mrs. Hutchinson thinks it's just another day that her family will participate in the towns' tradition. The time then comes for her husband and she says, "Get up there, Bill" (Jackson par. 31). This alone just means that it's not a big deal to her and that he isn't the one that's going to get the black dot. .
It isn't until the town is ready to open up the slips of paper that Mrs. Hutchinson realizes her family is the one at risk. When it was announced that her husband got the black dot she shouted, "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn't fair" (Jackson par. 47). Mrs. Delacroix says, "Be a good sport, Tessie" and Mrs.
