After analyzing each element of the story, I finally decide that the theme of the story is a modern idea cannot change the old ideal tradition in a society easily. Jackson delivers her story allegorically and ironically, which provides many symbols. The lottery itself is a kind of religious ritual based on carrying out an act which will please the Gods so that the agricultural year will be fruitful, “…lottery in June, harvest will be heavy soon…” The townspeople in this story represents the puritan people, and the lottery itself symbolizes the ritual in their belief which is has to be done each year. And they don’t stop because they believe that if they stop the ritual, they would have a misery or such kind of curse and they wouldn’t get God’s blessings, mercy and grace. The heavy harvest symbolizes the mercy and God’s blessing. It is illustrated in the paragraph 33:
“Some places have already quit lotteries,” Mrs. Adams said.
“Nothing but trouble in that,” Old Man Warner said stoutly. “Pack of young fools.””
Jackson describes the story in a simple plot and style to make the readers able to understand easily, but actually she does not serve the story as it appears to be. In other words, Jackson simply satirizes the old doctrines of Puritan, in which cannot accept a new idea (understanding) in their community. And whoever tries to build up this new idea, she or he is considered as a sinner and has to be punished. This is described in the whole story, which is characterized by Tessie Hutchinson, who is allusion to Anne Hutchinson, a woman who believes in the rights of the individual to freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom to worship. She was such a woman who insists to betray the ideals or ethics in her community, no matter what the cost is. For her, it must have been hard living under Puritan doctrines in the newly established American colonies, especially if we were a woman, in our history; women weren't even allowed to think for themselves. This part is shown in the whole story that symbolizes Tessie’s trial. At that time, women are not allowed to be the leader or even have the idea of doctrine. Tessie actually is not trying to break the doctrine or even having her own ideas, but she is trying to show the right of human freedom. She just tries to deny the system, which represents the lottery process. This part is illustrated in story when Tessie came late to attend the ritual in the yard.
“Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. “Clean forgot what day it was,” she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. “Thought my old man was out back stacking wood,” Mrs. Hutchinson went on, “and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running.”
And yet, although Tessie has a strong reason to state that the lottery is unfair, no one tries to protect her. However, she still has the chance to pick up the folded paper in a black box, which the papers inside represent the whole people in the community and the black box symbolizes the Puritan community. Finally she got the lottery, meaning she got the black spotted paper, which describes the way they curse or punish the sinner by stoning her to death together.
““It’s Tessie,” Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. “Show us her paper, Bill.”
Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office.”
The one who gets the lottery, normally we will say someone "wins" a lottery, but that word is never used in the story, because it is not about winning something or gaining something but deeper than that, it refers to the stoning action.
Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. “It isn’t fair,” she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, “Come on, come on, everyone.” Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
“It isn’t fair, it isn’t right,” Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.
The story actually illustrates our simple everyday life. As a human being we need someone to be blame of or to be responsible of something. We always try to avoid the truth although the truth is hard to be accepted. We keep on doing things which we know are wrong and we try to find another person to take over our responsibility. No matter how the way or how much the cost is, we will always try to appear in a society innocently, in order to be accepted among them, so we have to act just like they act, otherwise we will be excommunicated by them. Just like Anne, although she did not sentenced to death by the community, but still she has been excommunicated by the Puritan people just because she went against the teachings of the church by holding her own idea and stand on it by her own. Although she provided useful Bible-study classes for women and later for men, she is still a woman, who should act like a woman.
After interpreting the story, finally most of the whole elements of the story are developed. But the most highly developed is the plot and the style, which play the main role to create the irony in the story and to build the sense of suspense to the readers in order to make it as an interesting stuff to be read. And the least developed one is the setting. Although the setting actually has its own role and it also contributes the story to be ironic, but its role contributing the story is very weak. The readers seem to be brought to the same place and the same time plainly. From the beginning until the end of the story, it does not raise or even develop.
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