The lottery is an arrangement in which prizes are allocated by means of a process that depends wholly on chance. It has wide appeal as a means of raising money for many kinds of public usages, because it is considered a painless form of taxation. Lottery arrangements generally involve a large number of tickets sold at low cost to the general public, and the total value of the prizes is derived from the amount left after the deductions of profits for the promoters and costs of promotion.
In The Lottery, Shirley Jackson reveals that tradition can be so powerful and blinding that it will make people go against their own sense of reason in order to stay within the social norms of their community. She also highlights the importance of changing the status quo when it is not just.
The story takes place in a remote American village, and the first scene describes how people gather together to play the lottery. The villagers are all in a cold state and have the same mentality, but there is one person who breaks away from this conformity. The other villagers pick her as their winner, and this event causes the ice to crack in the group and open the door for change.
Although the drawing of lots has a long record in human history, it was not until the late 15th century that the concept became widespread. The earliest European lotteries were private, and distributed goods such as dinnerware as prizes. In the United States, Benjamin Franklin held a lottery to raise funds for cannons during the Revolutionary War. The first public lotteries in Europe were held during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus for the purpose of municipal repairs.