The horrifying part of the story is that the murderous tradition continues even in a seemingly modern, “normal” society. This village has been established as a farming community, so it seems likely that this was the origin of the lottery. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story published in the Jedition of The New Yorker. The idea behind most primitive human sacrifices was that something (or someone) must die in order for the crops to grow that year. The use of stones also connects the ritual to Biblical punishments of “stoning” people for various sins, which then brings up the idea of the lottery’s victim as a sacrifice. There is no real religious or practical justification for the lottery anymore-it’s just a primitive murder for the sake of tradition. The line about the stones makes an important point-most of the external trappings of the lottery have been lost or forgotten, but the terrible act at its heart remains. She is best known for her dystopian short story, The Lottery (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. Dunbar already sent her son away, perhaps to spare him having to participate in murder this year, and now she herself seems to try and avoid taking part in the lottery as well.
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