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Why is the ending of the lottery ironic?

The ending of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” contains a powerful irony that makes it one of the most famous and impactful endings in literature. The story describes a fictional small town in America that holds an annual lottery, in which everyone participates and one townsperson is randomly selected to be stoned to death. The tone throughout most of the story is fairly mundane, as the townspeople go about the lottery ritual as a normal yearly tradition. However, the ending provides a twist when it is revealed that the “winner” of the lottery is Tessie Hutchinson, the wife of Bill Hutchinson. Tessie protests the unfairness of her selection, but her cries are ignored and she is stoned to death by the other townspeople, including her own family members.

The ending is deeply ironic in several ways. First, the idea of being selected in a “lottery” normally has positive connotations of winning a prize. However, in this story it equates to being condemned to death. Additionally, the casual, cheerful tone of the townspeople throughout the story becomes deeply twisted when placed in contrast with the brutal violence of the ending. The mundane normality with which the townspeople carry out this ritualistic murder underscores how disturbing and inhumane it is. Finally, the victim being Tessie Hutchinson, who initially joined in the lottery with no objections, highlights the arbitrary nature of the selection and how anyone could be vulnerable. Overall, the ending casts the rest of the story in a new, deeply unsettling light. Jackson uses irony skillfully to convey a critique of social conformity and mob mentality.

Summary of “The Lottery”

“The Lottery” takes place in a small farming town in contemporary America. On June 27th each year, all of the townspeople gather together in the town square for the yearly lottery. The lottery is conducted by Mr. Summers, who officiates the event with help from Mr. Graves. Everyone in town is required to participate, including women and children. The only exception is for people who are ill; they can appoint a family member to draw for them.

The night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves prepare paper slips and a wooden box. One slip has a black mark on it. The townspeople arrive at 10 a.m. the next morning and socialize while waiting for the lottery to begin. The male head of each household draws slips of paper from the box until every family has one. Bill Hutchinson ends up with the marked slip, meaning his family has “won” the lottery. His wife Tessie protests, complaining that the draw was unfair. However, her complaints are dismissed and she is told to show a good spirit.

Each member of Bill Hutchinson’s family then draws a slip, and Tessie ends up with the marked slip. Despite her protests that the lottery isn’t fair, the townspeople insist that the ritual continue. Tessie’s own friends and family members pick up stones as she argues with Mrs. Delacroix, her friend. The final sentence describes how the children and adults alike descend upon Tessie to stone her to death.

Key Elements of the Plot

– The lottery is an annual tradition held on June 27th.

– Mr. Summers officiates the lottery, assisted by Mr. Graves.

– All townspeople are required to participate, except those who are ill.

– Bill Hutchinson’s family is selected when he draws the marked paper slip.

– When each Hutchinson family member draws a slip, Tessie gets the marked one.

– Despite her protests that it’s unfair, Tessie is stoned to death by the townspeople.

Major Characters

– Tessie Hutchinson: Protagonist. She is stoned by the townspeople after protesting the unfairness of the lottery drawing.

– Bill Hutchinson: Tessie’s husband. His slip of paper is marked, selecting his family during the lottery.

– Mr. Summers: Official of the lottery. He oversees the lottery proceedings.

– Mr. Graves: Assists Mr. Summers with running the lottery.

– Townspeople: The rest of the town’s residents, who all participate in the annual lottery and the stoning of Tessie.

Themes

– Conformity: The townspeople blindly follow the brutal lottery ritual without questioning it. Tessie initially goes along with it too before she becomes the victim.

– Mob mentality: The townspeople act as a mob, killing Tessie simply because those are the rules of the lottery. Individual responsibility is absolved.

– Tradition versus progress: The lottery is an antiquated, pointless tradition, implying society’s resistance to progress away from outdated barbarity.

– Scapegoating: Tessie is an arbitrary “winner” who becomes a scapegoat, stoned for no rational reason.

Analysis of the Ironic Ending

The ending of “The Lottery” is deeply ironic because it violently subverts the expectations established earlier in the story. The peaceful, festive tone throughout the rest of the story becomes horrifying in hindsight.

Peaceful Tone Earlier in the Story

Up until the end, the story depicts the lottery as a pleasant community event. It takes place on a warm summer day, with children playing and townspeople chatting casually with each other as they wait for the lottery to be held. We get an idyllic picture of small town life, with everyone coming together for a yearly ritual.

There are some hints early on that things are slightly “off” – some townspeople keep their distance from the Hutchinson family once they are selected. However, there is nothing to indicate the terror to come. The tone remains light and conversational up until the chilling final paragraph.

Unexpected Brutal Ending

After the calmly mundane depiction leading up to the ending, the brutal stoning of Tessie is hugely shocking. The ending paragraph contains distressing imagery that overturns everything that came before:

“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box. Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘Hurry up.’ Mrs. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath, ‘I can’t run at all. You’ll have to go ahead and I’ll catch up with you.’ The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.”

The ending is deeply shocking and ironic. We now see the townspeople in a completely different, sinister light. The ending reveals them to be a mob of murderers, turning on one of their own in a horrific act of violence. Their civilization is only a thin veneer over cruelty and barbarity.

Tessie’s Change from Participant to Victim

Up until she is selected, Tessie participates in the lottery without objection, implying she sees it as normal. Her shift from participant to victim underscores the arbitrary unfairness of the tradition. Nobody deserves their fate – it could happen to anyone. Tessie’s cries that “It wasn’t fair!” further highlight the meaningless brutality of the ritual.

Significance of the Ironic Ending

The ironic ending of “The Lottery” serves to shock readers out of complacency and dramatize the underlying themes:

Dangers of Blind Conformity

The ending reveals the horrific consequences of blindly following tradition. It exposes the latent savagery that conformity and mob mentality can unleash. Through the ironic ending, Jackson warns against passively accepting barbaric practices out of custom.

Individual Responsibility

By suddenly shifting from an anonymous mob to the individual horror of Tessie’s death, the ending emphasizes personal accountability. Jackson reminds readers not to absolve their individual responsibility to question harmful traditions.

Critique of American Culture

“The Lottery” was published in 1948, in the post-World War II era. The ironic ending critiques complacency about violence in American culture. Jackson implies American civilization may be a thin veneer overlying brutality and inhumanity.

Timeless Social Commentary

While shocking in its day, the ironic ending still resonates with modern readers. Unfortunately, chilling mob violence and unquestioning conformity remain very relevant social ills. The ending’s impact endures because these problems are far from solved.

Use of Dramatic Irony

Jackson employs dramatic irony throughout “The Lottery” to set up the shocking reversal at the end:

Readers Know Something Characters Don’t

From the beginning, readers are given hints something is amiss with the lottery. For instance, children gather stones away from their parents’ sight. Only readers know the foreshadowing significance of this, while the characters remain oblivious to the impending violence.

Misunderstood Words and Rituals

Characters use language and perform rituals whose sinister meanings are only revealed to readers at the end. For example, the characters talk about someone being “lucky” to win the lottery, which takes on a grimly ironic meaning by the end.

Mundane Details Become Ominous

Subtle, everyday details like the pile of stones and the black box seem ordinary initially. But when viewed again after the ending, these mundane objects take on sinister meaning in hindsight. The stage is set for the reversal.

Jackson uses dramatic irony to unsettle readers and make the story’s ending even more impactful. The contrasts between what readers know and what characters understand builds tension leading up to the shocking finale.

Interpretations and Analysis

Many interpretations have been made about the deeper meaning underlying “The Lottery’s” ironic ending:

Conformity and Social Pressure

A common reading is that Jackson is commenting on conformity and the danger of blindly following traditions. Even good people can be made to commit evil acts if social pressure demands it.

Scapegoating

Tessie serves as a scapegoat, stoned for no good reason. This suggests the human tendency to turn on others irrationally when conditions create instability.

Subverted Justice

The title “The Lottery” implies a fair system. However, the story ironically subverts this into an arbitrary, unjust ritual. The story demonstrates how easily justice and order can be undermined by mob mentality.

Class Struggle

Some analyze Tessie Hutchinson as representing lower class struggles against an elitist society that preserves its power through barbaric traditions. Her pleas go unheard by those controlling the ritual.

Female Oppression

Feminist critiques often focus on how a woman becomes the ultimate victim of the mob. Despite her friendships, Tessie receives no solidarity or empathy from the other townswomen.

Critique of American Culture

Published after World War II, some see the story as commentary on the inhumanity and tendency towards violence within American culture at the time. The town represents a microcosm of America.

There are many valid interpretive lenses through which to view the unsettling irony of “The Lottery’s” ending. This reflects the story’s lasting social commentary and critique of human nature.

Discussion Questions

The shocking ending of “The Lottery” raises many questions for analysis and discussion:

Was Tessie right to protest, or should she have kept quiet?

Tessie initially goes along with the lottery, but protests when she becomes the victim. Should she have objected earlier, or would speaking out have been futile?

Why don’t more townspeople object to the lottery?

What social and psychological factors make the townspeople conform to this murderous practice, rather than rebel?

How would you behave if you were a character in the story?

Put yourself in the shoes of a character and imagine how you would respond. Would you reject the lottery, even if it meant social isolation?

Does this story demonstrate flaws in human nature?

What aspects of humanity does Jackson’s ironic portrayal criticize? Are senseless violence and conformity inherent human weaknesses?

Could a lottery like this ever happen in real life?

While fictional, are their elements of the story that comment on realistic mob mentality and conformity? Could aspects plausibly occur in the real world?

What motivates the characters to stone Tessie?

What human emotions and psychological drives lead the townspeople to sacrifice one of their own? Fear? Conformity? Cultural conditioning?

Exploring these challenging questions can lead to insightful analysis about this impactful short story. The ironic ending offers a powerful warning about human nature that still resonates today.

Conclusion

Shirley Jackson’s famous short story “The Lottery” employs irony to devastating effect. The peaceful small town scene depicted earlier contrasts shockingly with the brutal ritual murder at the end. The lottery’s name implies fairness, which is subverted by the arbitrary, inhumane tradition. Tessie shifts from participant to victim, underscoring how anyone could suffer under an unjust system. Jackson uses dramatic irony, letting readers discern the awful meaning behind mundane events and language. The ending critiques social conformity, mob mentality, and cultural violence. This iconic story demonstrates irony’s power to starkly reveal underlying human evils. The ending’s impact still resonates deeply today, urging us to question harmful traditions and re-examine our own role in perpetuating injustice.