The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

If one were to know the title of this piece of literature and then immediately learn of the ending, they would say that it was quite ironic. Irony dominates the scope of this short story. Just the irony of the title is enough; The Lottery, has a positive connotation. However there is nothing positive about the eventual stoning of one of the towns few residents. As well, must of the irony of this story resides in the nonchalant attitudes of all of the town's residents. They talk and joke around before preceding to stone someone to death. Mrs. Hutchinson, the woman who is eventually stoned, arrives late and is welcomed with much good-humored teasing. The passage reads, "The people separated good-humoredly to let her through; two or three people said in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, 'here comes your Missus, Hutchinson," and "Bill, she made it after all"" (Jackson 266). The sickest and possibly most far-fetched part of the story is when her own children casually participate in the stoning. If these little, odd ironies were omitted throughout the book, this story would have been much darker and perverse. It is the over-the-top casualness of the townspeople that makes this story unrealistic and satirical. What is all of this satire meant to criticize anyways? The story is giving warnings of the serious problem of not questioning age old traditions. It explicitly states in the book that most townspeople had forgotten the reasons for the lottery other than that it was just what takes place.