Question

The beginning of the story

"The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank. Around 10 o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for dinner."
The ending of the story
"Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head.
"Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him."
"It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her."

Considering the two excerpts above, why is the story ironic?

Answer 1

The irony in Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' lies in the contrast between the story's peaceful setting and its violent conclusion, challenging the reader's expectations about the nature of societal rituals.

Step-by-step explanation:

The story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is ironic because it presents a stark contrast between the peaceful and idyllic setting described at the beginning and the horrific and brutal tradition of the lottery revealed at the end. The irony lies in the normalization of violence as a community event in what seems to be an otherwise average New England village. The congenial gathering of the villagers, a commonplace aspect of rural American life, culminates in an act of collective savagery, challenging the readers' notions of civility and underscoring the potential for inhumanity in social rituals.