Deadly Traditions In “The Lottery” Shirley Jackson’s unique writing sets the reader up for what will eventually result in disappointment. Jackson’s story portrays an average village with average citizens engaged in a deadly rite, the annual selection of a sacrificial victim of a public lottery. It is not until well along in the story do we suspect that the winner will be stoned to death by the rest of the villagers. Jackson reveals …showed first 75 words of 791 total…

…showed last 75 words of 791 total…a remedy. Forgotten traditions can also be extremely dangerous as Shirley Jackson points out in her short story. The simple game of telephone proves that as a society, we are just like the villagers, forgetting the original words but continuing on as if the words we know are the original. Work Cited Jackson, Shirley, “The Lottery.” Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice, 1999. 74-79.