Winning the lottery takes on a whole new meaning in the short story, "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. It is told in third person and in an objective manner. The title itself indicates something positive when in fact the story is quite the opposite. The story reveals how a small town and its people cling blindly to a tradition no matter how senseless and evil it is.
             The setting of the story is in the town's square where the plot revolves around the annual lottery. A central character is Tessie Hutchinson, a friendly housewife who is hurriedly arriving for the lottery: "Clean forgot what day it was. Then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running," as she dried her hands on her apron.
             Early in the story, the precise purpose of the lottery is not stated other than some foreshadowing as the narrator describes schoolboys making a pile of stones in the square. The narrator attaches no ominous commentary to this activity. After some small talk, including discussion of how other towns have abandoned the lottery, the drawing begins with Mr. Summers in charge. The conflict begins when Tessie realizes her husband has drawn the unlucky ticket for the lottery: "Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, "You didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted, I saw you. It wasn't fair." The friendly housewife now becomes anxious and angry.
             Throughout the second phase of the lottery, Tessie continues to plead her case with mounting intensity: "I think we ought to start over, I tell you it wasn't fair. You didn't give him enough time to choose. Everybody saw that."
             When Tessie learns that it is she who "wins" the lottery her pleading then becomes relentless. Her insistent objection becomes a scream after the first stone hits her and the town converges upon her.
             The climax of the story is when the reader learns ex...