A lottery is a form of gambling in which people buy tickets with numbers on them, and then, through random chance, the person or persons with the winning number receives a prize. It is common for government agencies to organize lotteries to raise funds for certain public projects. In the past, lotteries have raised money for everything from building town fortifications to educating children. However, today, many people criticize the lottery industry for its marketing tactics and alleged regressive impact on low-income families. The popularity of the lottery also has led to a proliferation of new forms of gambling, including video poker and keno, that are based on the same principle.
The story begins with the children of the village assembling in the town square, stuffing their pockets with stones. Their behavior is a clear indication that they have already started to sort themselves into separate nuclear families. Then Mr. Summers, the master of ceremonies for this year’s lottery, enters. He carries a black box that he places on a three-legged stool in the center of the square. The narrator describes the significance of this box, claiming that it is made up of parts of an even older original box. The villagers respect this box and the sense of tradition that it confers.
After a brief silence, the villagers begin to select their tickets from the box. The narrator mentions that each family has one ticket. When little Dave’s paper is drawn, there is a general sigh of relief as his is blank. Then Nancy’s and Bill’s papers are revealed, both of which are blank as well. Tessie’s, on the other hand, is marked with a black spot. Her family members immediately start to look for excuses to stone her.
As the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson proceeds, Jackson’s narrative draws attention to the way in which societies often persecute certain individuals for no other reason than their membership in a particular group. This is a theme that runs throughout The Lottery, and it is not hard to see the connections between the patriarchal culture of the village and the Nazis. Tessie’s family, like the family members of Hitler’s victims, is willing to sacrifice her for their own self-interest.
The primary argument used by state governments to promote their lotteries is that they are a source of “painless” revenue, in which the players voluntarily spend their own money for the benefit of the state. While this is true, there are other issues that should be considered when evaluating state lottery policies. Among these are the potential for lottery advertising to promote gambling addiction and its negative consequences for lower-income households, as well as the fact that, as a business, lotteries must constantly work to increase their revenues. This can run at cross-purposes with the state’s overall public interest. This dynamic may be a contributing factor to the recent proliferation of lottery-like games, such as keno and video poker, and it is important that these problems are addressed by policymakers.