Lottery
... by their fathers. The wives gathered last. From this, the reader can surmise that the men were the dominant figure in the family. This having been said, our first indication of Jackson’s intent to play out this role against the ordinary way, is when Tess Hutchinson shows up late for the lottery. This ritual had been practiced for years and Tess claimed that she “clean forgot what day it was.” This is the first sign that she is rebelling against what is thought to be “the way it is”. Upon settling in with her family, Mr. Summers says, “Thought we were going to have to get on without you Tessie.” It is said that he says this cheerfully, however, a sense of sarcasm is detected. Tess sarcastically replies, “Wouldn’t have me leave m’dishes in the sink now, would you Joe?” Before Mr. Summers proceeds with the start of the lottery, he seriously says, “Guess we better get started, get this over with, so’s we can go back to work.” The reader is led to believe, based upon the attitudes and joking manner of everyone, that this “lottery” is a positive and good thing with a good outcome. The first round of the lottery consists of the head of household of every family in the town, drawing slips of paper from a black box. The names are read in alphabetical order. When Mr. Summers gets to Hutchinson, Tess says, “Get up there Bill.” This is yet another indication of reluctance. Upon completion of the first round, everyone is nervous and quiet. Mr. Summers instructs everyone to open their slips of paper. Everyone began to speak, saying, “Who is it? Who’s got it?” Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. He was the “winner”. After realizing that is was her family that had “won”, Tess starts yelling, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair.” After her outburst, a coup...