In the case of “The Lottery”, the little black box has a profound effect on the towns’ people. In this instance it has a profound impact on one person in particular, Tessie Hutchinson. Tessie Hutchinson finds that in an instant life can change right before your eyes. She proclaims at the end of the story, “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right.” (243)
Can you imagine a simple box could carry so much weight? This box that has been around for years and years, generation after generation of family have gone through the annual pain of this black box. Just the mere thought of the “power” this box contains takes its emotional toll on the people. You can see this from the beginning …show more content…
They want to keep tradition alive in continuing to do the lottery every year and they do this by keeping some of the pieces together of the original box even though you can tell that it has been used and abused, and no one has taken the responsibility to repair it. In the past they used wood fragments to write down the names of the villagers, but this year decided to use paper because the population has grown within the village so rapidly. It is incredibly powerful that no family is exempt from participating in the lottery ensuring that it remains 100% fair to all the people in the village. When one is unable to participate they have a stand in for them, typically the next of …show more content…
Tessie Hutchinson was the dreaded recipient of the black spot on her paper, this meant that she would be stoned. Feelings overwhelm her at the discovery of the black spot, as she begins to bargain with the village “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted” (241). It is only natural for a person to feel as though this situation is unfair when they are on the receiving end of the stick. I would wager to bet that if this person was someone else, Tessie would be in a position of relief. Her character plays an incredibly important role to this story, it makes you sit back and think. Why are they continuing this barbaric tradition, but also gives you a new outlook on life. I would imagine shortly after the Lottery there would be a period where folks are grateful to just be alive and celebrate. There would be a sense of friendship and family and respect for one another, knowing that tomorrow is not always promised. A sense that our time and days are not always guaranteed to