The Horror in the Lottery Story by Shirley Jackson

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The Horror within the Lottery
The standard description of the lottery is not revealed in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery story. Although most readers might have had the expectations of an excellent day for the person winning the award, the lottery shown by the turn of events reveals a different meaning. The story takes readers through horrific phases of actions and the costumes used for the event. According to Jackson, the people presented in the story indulge in an intriguing act of murder of one of the members of the community to commemorate a ritual act in keeping their traditions alive. The horrific theme in the Lottery story is portrayed by the literal killing of people to glorify rituals in respect of culture.
The representation of tradition in a black box and a black spot to show the winner of the lottery indulge feelings of fear. Why would they only choose black and not any other color? The appearance of the box brings an intriguing sight of horror that is irresistible to all readers. Hence, even before knowing the primary cause of the activity, readers can sense and predict a weird engagement towards the end of the event. On the other hand, the dark spot is an actual intrusion of horror. According to Jackson, Tessie Hutchinson picked the slip with the black spot on it, implying she was the victim of the year’s lottery. In addition, the day was set for the performance of a traditional ritual, which involves the killing of one of the members of the community. One would ask themselves what would be associated with the ceremony since the event involved people from the village. The use of the black box and spot instate stage of fear in the story, with the quest fulfilled towards the end once the victim is identified and murdered.
Although the village comprises of hardworking people, they turn into monsters once a year when the time for the ritual event approaches. The people contribute to their families and the community building of the town that they later detriment by eradicating people in the name of fulfilling tradition. The adherence to tradition reveals the dangerous path followed by the community in killing the people they have known, lived, and created excellent relationships with as members of one society (Jackson). Ironically, the people hurt each other, their families, and the social set up of the demographic instead of protecting one another. If they were good people with respect for human dignity and the members of their community, they would enact ways to stop the event despite the underlying consequences. The ritual has turned the people into monsters because it does not only exclude anyone from the ceremony, but they also do not seem bothered with who might fall for trap any other time during the lottery (Jackson). Hence, it does not favor any of the villagers, and all people attending and picking the papers have a hundred percentage chances of losing their lives that day. Also, people do not have remorse as they embrace the killing activity of their fellow citizens.
Mr. Graves looks at Mr. Summers gravely while picking his paper from the black box with the stance in his face revealing a certain degree of cause for alarm. While the other people pick...