A lot of people have scorned Shirley Jackson, the author of "The Lottery" and many other short stories, for providing a "gothic feel" to her literature rather than a "comfort" feeling. "The Lottery" is a fictional tale about a small town which holds an annual democratic ritual, in order to select an individual to be stoned to death. A ritual that has lost all meaning except for the corny explanation that Old Man Warner provides, "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon" ("The Lottery," 382). Although many people depict this short story as a tale of horror and deeply rooted violence, it provides insight on how and why humanity has always upheld tradition, even if the tradition does not serve a significant purpose.
For example, in the book as well as in life, people of power or those who have authority believe change is unnecessary when something works or when it does not affect them in a specific way. Zachary Barnett writes, " the whole point of the fable is to make grotesquely clear man's absurd fear of change" ("Review of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery"). In the story, Old Man Warner, a seventy-seven year old man, quickly counter-attacks Mr. and Mrs. Adams when they begin to converse about towns who had given up, or were considering giving up the lottery. He even suggests that trouble could occur from this change without even giving an example to how it could occur. He states, "Nothing but trouble in that pack of young fools" ("The Lottery," 382). Also, Mr. Summers, Mr. Graves, and Mr. Martin all seem to hold highly credible roles in society, nonetheless they seem to hold similar roles in the tradition of the lottery. Mr. Summers, one of the wealthiest men in town and the owner of the coal company, was the conductor of the lottery because he " had more time and energy to devote to civic activities" ("The Lottery," 378). Peter Kosenko interprets time and energy for "money and leisure" ("A Reading of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"").
