Shirley Jackson's 1948 Short Story Essay

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That is precisely what generates the shock when readers realize, only at the end of the story, that all of those mundane descriptions were actually the prelude and preparation for murder. Both works involve the manner in which otherwise ordinary communities of church-going, moral people can support and participate in morally heinous practices under the right circumstances and influences.

However, there are significant differences in the circumstances detailed in each work as well. The principal distinction, of course, is that The Lottery is fictional whereas the Salem Witch Trials actually occurred as described. More importantly, The Lottery describes a more horrific situation, at least arguably, precisely because the ritual occurs mindlessly, without any awareness on the part of participants of its purpose, and most of all, because it involves the murder of a person selected purely randomly without even a mistaken accusation of anything justifying the murder.

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By contrast, the Salem Witch Trials were precipitated by fears that were at least genuine, even if they were completely irrational together with the manner of the methods used to adjudicate the innocence or guilt of the accused. By comparison, the atrocities described in The Lottery are more frightening because, unlike the eventual repeal of the Witch Trials in response to logical objections, the mindless adherence to rituals whose origins and purpose are unknown more difficult to change. In that regard, the author illustrates through dialogue in several places that the townspeople are highly resistant to changing their town's traditions. That parallels the way even American society has exhibited and continues to exhibit reluctance to question established norms and traditions notwithstanding their….....

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