"Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones." PAGE 271
This quote was the first explicit mention of what the lottery was. The negativity of it had been revealed earlier as Mrs. Hutchinson complained and whined about being chosen. The lottery determines who will be stoned to death. I assume this stoning was some kind of sacrificial tradition. The title led me to believe that "the lottery" was a good thing. Usually when someone thinks of a lotter they want to win. They want their name to be drawn. I interpreted the title of the lottery to mean that someone would win money or a major prize. The fact that everyone was present- men, women, and kids-also led me to believe that the lottery was an exciting time. Irrelevant to the question, but I also noticed that this story must have taken place before the views of men and women were equalized because Mr. Summers did not want Mrs. Dunbar to be able to draw for her injured husband. I also noticed that people were alright with the idea of sacrificing people. Even when the kids knew it was not them, they were not sad that it was one of their parents. They were happy that it was not them as if it was part of the game.
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