alt Hacker NewsThe Lottery – Shirley Jackson (1948)
Comments
The antecedent to The Running Man and The Hunger Games.
The lottery: and other stories https://archive.org/details/lottery00jack/mode/1up
Because I’m surprised to see Shirley Jackson on the front page, and maybe someone else will get a smile:
Why one small American town won’t stop stoning its residents to death -https://archiveofourown.org/works/73396436?view_adult=true
Wasn't there recently just a two button trend with a similar theme?
What stood out to me was how normal everyone acts. No villains or drawn out speeches just people treating something horrifying like it’s another town chore. That’s probably the part that aged the best (or worst).
This story remains pertinent.
Can we imagine a world where we can question everything? Where we have the means to do so?
The Lottery parallels plenty of other works - of the banality of evil. Of how we can turn to cruelty through our traditions and patterns. But can we imagine a future where we create space to ask questions? Constantly?
I remember reading this as a naive 14 yr old, because it was one of “the” classics of American literature apparently. It scarred me for months later. I hated it.
Now looking back, I don’t think this story would scar me as much anymore. But I still don’t see the point it. Is it an allegory for something deeper than what it is. I still don’t like it much anymore!