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Journalism of Courage
For most, June 27 might seem like just another summer day, but for fans of psychological horror and American literature it is of the most chilling and unforgettable dates ever written. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, it is the day a small town comes together for a horrifying tradition: a public execution disguised as a community event.
When The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1948, readers were shocked and horrified. The magazine received an overwhelming response from readers across the country. Reposting the story in 2021, The New Yorker reminisced: “Jackson’s short story ‘The Lottery,’ from 1948, inspired the most mail The New Yorker had ever received in response to a work of fiction and caused some readers to cancel their subscriptions.”
People were upset not just because of the story’s dark twist, but because it hit too close to home. Jackson did not write of fantastical monsters removed from reality, she wrote about ordinary people doing something terrible simply because “it’s tradition.”
Each year on June 27, the townspeople gather to hold a lottery where one person is chosen by a random draw. The “winner,” however, is not rewarded (spoiler alert), the town stones them to death. On the day the novel unfolds, the person selected is Tessie Hutchinson. Though she laughs and jokes at the beginning, her tone changes when her name is called. She protests, “It wasn’t fair!” But no one listens.
The sheeplike townspeople carry out the tradition without remorse. Even Tessie’s young son is given a few pebbles to throw.
What makes The Lottery so disturbing is how normal everything seems. The setting is peaceful. The characters are ordinary people. The word “lottery” usually suggests a prize or something positive. Because of this contrast, the brutal ending is even more shocking. Shirley Jackson uses this dissonance to make readers uncomfortable.
It is a warning against the dangers of blindly following tradition. The villagers do not really know why they hold the lottery. They have forgotten most of the original ritual, but they still do it every year without question.
The story also shows how ordinary people can commit violence when it is socially accepted. No one in the town feels personally responsible for Tessie’s death, because everyone is participating. The calmness with which the brutal murder is narrated is a testament to how the practice has been normalised .
Even Tessie does not protest the lottery itself, only the fact that she is chosen. It speaks of pervasive collective compliance where people often ignore injustice until it affects them personally.
The Lottery continues to be taught, studied, and debated more than 75 years after it was first published. It has been adapted for stage and screen, referenced in TV shows, and included in countless anthologies. And each year, as June 27 approaches, readers are reminded of the terrifying power of tradition, and our responsibility to question it.
The Lottery reminds us that the most frightening monsters are not always fictional, most of the time they hide in plain sight: smiling, laughing, and following the rules.
