27 June bisects the summer soltstice and Independence Day, which is a contrast between superstitious paganism and rational democracy. The sunny day and the blooming of flowers indicate a happy, festive occasion. The reader does not realize that “The Lottery” is not a happy occasion until its tragic end. The reader can never perceive something so holocaustic happening in 20th Century America. Initially, the reader thinks that the lottery is a modern day lottery in which …showed first 75 words of 908 total…

…showed last 75 words of 908 total…basis, the stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson would be deemed murder, but as a group, it is classified as tradition because everyone does it. Mrs. Hutchinson and Mrs. Delacroix are obviously friends, however, the author states that Mrs. Delacroix chooses the biggest stone. Shirley Jackson uses “The Lottery” to show the horror in an ordinary village by their irrational ritual, and how they lean towards violence to justify their act instead of a civilized, modern tradition.