The Lottery is one of the many short stories written by Shirley Jackson. The story takes place in a small village, which was unnamed in the text so it remains nameless today. The story begins with an introduction to the setting where there are lush green fields and old-fashioned houses everywhere, “The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny”. Since this detail was mentioned early on in The Lottery, readers can infer that time progresses throughout the story for each day falls during summertime.
The hours usually go by quickly without any notice or mention, therefore there is no specific time given other than the fact that it is before noon judging by the sun’s position. The village itself originally had about 300 inhabitants at its height but as more modern towns with better living conditions began to pop up, people moved out of The Lottery. The last few residents are all about the same age and have known each other since they were children so there is a sense of familiarity between them.
The village was surrounded by “cornfields” but they stopped growing anything since everyone started leaving; it seems like The Lottery is slowly dying on its own. The population has dropped until only thirty-eight residents remain today. The setting itself appears to be modern even though there are some old-fashioned items such as wooden boxes that seem like they belong in the 19 th century instead of the present day; meaning this story could be taking place during the late 20 th century or early 21 st century at the latest.
The town of The Lottery is rural and even though there are more modernized areas across the country, The Lottery isn’t too far from the bigger city, “Over these [the green hills] our white villages lie; The red tower of the church-steeple”. The village is small and quaint, peaceful enough for children to play outside during their free time without having to worry about any danger.
The people in The Lottery seem to know each other or at least everyone knows everyone else’s business which doesn’t give off a safe vibe but it still has a sense of security and safety. For some reason, many people tend to think that every single person who lives in The Lottery knows each other personally since The Lottery has a much smaller population compared to other places in the United States.
The best way for The Lottery residents to know each other is if their families have been living there for generations but it doesn’t necessarily mean that did happen; The Lottery could be considered a “new town” by some standards since not everyone has lived their all of their lives and it seems like The Lottery is getting smaller every day; more people probably left The Lottery than stayed which makes this small village seem even smaller.
The reason why The Lottery was chosen as the setting is that there aren’t many unique things about The Lottery such as unique landforms, vegetation, or any type of wildlife; nothing sets The Lottery apart from any other small village in the United States except for The Lottery’s history. The Lottery is described as having lush green fields and old-fashioned houses which are common characteristics of The Lottery; there aren’t many physical features about The Lottery that could be used to describe The Lottery, so The Lottery was chosen because of The Lotteries history.
The plot of The Lottery takes place during summertime where it is usually hot outside with mild thunderstorms every once in a while. The weather might not be mentioned much throughout the short story but since people are still expected to go out into the sun it just confirms that the weather overall isn’t too extreme or unusual leading up to June 27 th. It doesn’t seem like The Lottery will have any extreme weather coming its way anytime soon because The Lottery’s climate consists of mild summers and fair winters.
The inhabitants of The Lottery are described as “white” which leads the reader to believe that The Lottery has a homogenous population (everyone in The Lottery is either Caucasian or Caucasian-American). Also, the drop in The Lottery population wasn’t because The Lottery was becoming too diverse; it seems like The Lottery was becoming more divided instead with each generation.
The only demographic provided for The Lottery is adults but they don’t even mention how old everyone is and what sex they might be so who knows if there are any children in the village at all. The only reason The Lottery was chosen as the setting is that The Lottery has a long history that Jackson could use to her advantage which leads the reader to believe how The Lottery came into existence. The town of The Lottery has never been associated with anything negative or positive throughout its history so it seems like The Lottery is just an ordinary village.
The reason why The Lottorys inhabitants are so reluctant about their lottery tradition is that they don’t want to let go of something they have always known since the beginning; if the citizens are against change then who are we to say that their way isn’t right? We do not know what life in The Lory would be like if The Lottery were to stop its lottery tradition so The Lottery was chosen as the setting for that reason. The lottery tradition is how The Lory has kept its history alive which leads to The Lotterys purpose in the story.
The Lottery’s purpose is to provide an example of how people will always be able to come together but also hold onto things they have known for years; The Lottery might not seem like much at first glance since it doesn’t provide anything special or unique about The Lottery itself, but The Lottery does represent many examples throughout human history such as remembering where one came from and overcoming change which makes The Lottery the perfect setting for this short story.
By far, The Lottery is The Lotterys most useful and necessary physical feature because The Lottery’s history is what The Lory would be remembered for in the future. The town of The Lory changes but one thing that never changes is The Lottery itself, which provides The Lory with its legacy. The reader will always remember where they came from so why shouldn’t The Lottery have the same privilege? Overall, The Lottery was chosen as the setting because it has a long history to use when writing this short story which makes The Lottery seem more relevant in comparison to other small villages in America today.
Change happens everywhere but to avoid dramatic change throughout any given community people might cling to things they have known their whole lives just to remember where they came from. The Lottery is The Lotterys purpose in The Lottery; The Rlottery provides The Lottery with its legacy and therefore The Lottery was chosen as the setting of The Lottery because The Lottery has a long history to use throughout Shirley Jacksons short story.
