Question

In one or two sentences of at least twenty words, explain how Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery” was received when it was first published in 1948; discuss the recent events of World War II that would have been fresh in the public’s mind. Include examples from the story that support your answer.

Answer 1

Aside from the horrors committed during the Holocaust in its systematic killing of jews and other Nazi prisoners of war, one of the most salient crimes against humanity was that of dehumanization. The war experiments committed by the Nazis, and the killing of people whom they did not see as "suitable" to be alive, are clear indications of two things: a) the horrific capacity of the human brain to compartmentalize even inhuman acts (that would be the Nazis) and, b) the fact that there are people who are physically able to commit these crimes "as told."

Answer 2

Answer: "The Lottery" is a short story written by Shirley Jackson, first published in the June 26, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. It has been defined as "one of the most famous short stories in the history of American literature".

The story is about a fictional small town in contemporary America which makes an annual rite known as "the lottery". The objective of the lottery is to pick a human as a sacrificial victim to be stoned to death to ensure the community's continued well being.

Readers' initial refusing response surprised both Jackson and The New Yorker: subscriptions were cancelled and much hate mail received throughout the summer of its first publication. The Union of South Africa banned the story.

The story has been dramatized many times and made the subject of sociological and literary analysis