June 26, 2024 • 9 mins
On this day in 1948, Shirley Jackson's seminal short story "The Lottery" was first published in “The New Yorker.”
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show that flips through the pages of history to deliver
old news in a new way. I'm Gabe Lucier and
today we're talking about The Lottery, Shirley Jackson's bracing depiction
(00:22):
of the banality of evil and one of the most
famously unsettling short stories in the American Canada. As a warning,
today's episode includes descriptions of violence, as well as full
spoilers for a story you really ought to read before listening.
(00:43):
The day was June twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight. Shirley
Jackson's seminal short story The Lottery, was first published in
The New Yorker. It was a shocking portrait of the
dangers of mob mentality and of following traditions without regard
for their consequences. Although highly controversial upon its initial release,
(01:05):
the Lottery was later reprinted and anthologized numerous times, and
is now considered an American classic. The story became a
mainstay of high school reading lists and has been adapted
for all sorts of mediums, including radio, ballet, a short film,
and a TV movie. Shirley Jackson's The Lottery takes place
(01:27):
on a summer day in a small rural village somewhere
in New England. All the residents are gathering for an
annual lottery drawing. Some families talk excitedly and tease each other,
and the kids seem positively giddy, but as the lottery
gets underway, the mood grows increasingly tense and it becomes
(01:47):
clear that no one actually wants to win. The drawing
is conducted by mister Summers and mister Graves. One by one,
they draw and announce a name from each family in town,
and then reveal whether or not their paper bears a
black spot designating the winner. Tessie Hutchinson is one of
(02:09):
the more gleeful spectators. She doesn't seem to mind the
tradition one bit until her family's slip is shown to
bear the mark. Then she suddenly changes her tune and
argues that the drawing wasn't fair. But her protests are
cut short when, as the narrator bluntly puts it, a
stone hit her on the side of the head. It's
(02:32):
not revealed who threw it because it doesn't really matter.
The rock is quickly followed by another and another, until
all the villagers have joined in. This is Tessi's prize,
to be stoned to death by her friends, neighbors, and
by members of her own family. Even her young son
is given pebbles to throw. The Lottery is known for
(02:56):
its gruesome twist ending, but Jackson unfolds the story mystery
slowly and skillfully. She builds a sense of unease in
the reader by establishing contrasts. The beautiful scenic setting is
at odds with the impersonal narrative voice, and our expectations
for a fun, festive atmosphere are undone by the looming
(03:17):
sense of dread that we find in its place. These disparities,
along with a handful of cryptic comments from the crowd,
let the reader know that something is amiss, but they
don't give away the full secret that's reserved for the
dark turn the story takes in its final moments, a
violent conclusion that pays off the story's menacing undertone while
(03:39):
still managing to shock the reader. By the time Shirley
Jackson wrote The Lottery, she was already an established writer,
with a published novel and several acclaimed short stories under
her belt. She was living in North Bennington, Vermont, with
her husband and daughter, and one summer day she came
up with the whole idea while struggling to push her
(03:59):
dog stroller uphill. The writing came easily, and she finished
the story that afternoon in less than two hours. Jackson
made a correction or two and then sent off the
manuscript to her agent the following day. Then just three
weeks after that, on June twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight,
the Lottery was published in The New Yorker. Written just
(04:23):
a few years after World War II and at the
dawn of the Red Scare, Jackson's story can be read
as a cautionary tale about blind conformity and the capacity
for evil that lurks in everyone. It shows that atrocities
can be inflicted as a matter of routine, so long
as enough people are complicit in them to make it
(04:43):
feel like no one is truly responsible. Many New Yorker
readers didn't appreciate the harsh intrusion of that real world
lesson into the pages of their favorite literary magazine, and
they didn't hesitate to let the editors and the author
know it. Hundreds of readers canceled their subscriptions and wrote
angry letters, denouncing the story in turn as outrageous, gruesome, perverted,
(05:09):
and utterly pointless. Some readers interpreted the story's rural setting
as an attack on the values of small town America,
while others mistook it for a real world account and
wanted to know how they could attend next year's lottery.
The New Yorker forwarded all this mail to Jackson, sometimes
as many as a dozen letters a day, and she
(05:31):
eventually had to upgrade to a bigger post office box
just to fit it all. Despite the volume of letters, though,
they all tended to fall into one of three categories,
which Jackson described as bewilderment, speculation, and plain old fashioned abuse.
The strong reactions caught the author off guard, especially when
(05:52):
her own parents joined in the criticism. It had simply
never occurred to me. Jackson later reflected that these millions
and millions of people might be so far from being
uplifted that they would sit down and write me letters.
I was downright scared to open. Of the three hundred
odd letters that I received that summer, I can count
(06:13):
only thirteen that spoke kindly to me, and they were
mostly from friends. Even my mother scolded me, Dad, and
I did not care at all for your story. In
The New Yorker, she wrote sternly, it does seem dear
that this gloomy kind of story is what all you
young people think about these days. Why don't you write
something to cheer people up instead. Jackson's genuine surprise at
(06:38):
the response seems to suggest that the Lottery was a
comment on the dark side of human nature in general,
rather than a rebuke of any specific community. And while
readers are still free to draw their own conclusions about
the stories meaning, it's worth noting that she herself weighed
in with her own view. In a nineteen forty eight
article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the author said, quote
(07:01):
explaining just what I had hoped the story to say
is very difficult. I suppose I hoped, by setting a
particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my
own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic
dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their
own lives. Jackson doesn't suggest as much herself, but I
(07:25):
think the backlash to the story is proof that she
achieved her mission. Many readers likely caught a distorted glimpse
of themselves reflected in the story, and because they didn't
like what they saw, they lashed out at the one
who showed it to them. At any rate, the controversy
would soon be drowned out by praise. In nineteen forty nine,
(07:46):
the Lottery was recognized with the prestigious O. Henry Prize
Stories Award, and in the years ahead it would be
reprinted in countless short story anthologies and added to school
curriculums across the country. The story was so successful that
for a time Jackson worried that it might overshadow the
rest of her work and she'd never be able to
(08:06):
top it. Luckily, that wasn't the case. She went on
to produce many more celebrated works throughout the nineteen fifties
and sixties, including two memoirs, dozens of short stories, and
five more novels, among them nineteen fifty nine's The Haunting
of Hill House, which is widely regarded as one of
the greatest ghost stories ever written. That said, none of
(08:30):
her other works quite caught the public's attention or its
ire in the same way as the Lottery. To this day.
It continues to force readers to examine what kind of
bad behavior they let slide or even take part in
for the sake of tradition or a sense of belonging.
What are the forces in our lives that might prompt
(08:51):
us to turn on our neighbors. It's a question worth
considering if you'd like to avoid casting a stone yourself.
I'm gay, Blues gay, and hopefully you now know a
little more about history today than you did yesterday. If
you'd like to keep up with the show, you can
follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show,
(09:17):
and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free
to send them my way by writing to This Day
at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias for producing
the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see
you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.
This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio.
Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show that flips through the pages of history to deliver
old news in a new way. I'm Gabe Lucier and
today we're talking about The Lottery, Shirley Jackson's bracing depiction
(00:22):
of the banality of evil and one of the most
famously unsettling short stories in the American Canada. As a warning,
today's episode includes descriptions of violence, as well as full
spoilers for a story you really ought to read before listening.
(00:43):
The day was June twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight. Shirley
Jackson's seminal short story The Lottery, was first published in
The New Yorker. It was a shocking portrait of the
dangers of mob mentality and of following traditions without regard
for their consequences. Although highly controversial upon its initial release,
(01:05):
the Lottery was later reprinted and anthologized numerous times, and
is now considered an American classic. The story became a
mainstay of high school reading lists and has been adapted
for all sorts of mediums, including radio, ballet, a short film,
and a TV movie. Shirley Jackson's The Lottery takes place
(01:27):
on a summer day in a small rural village somewhere
in New England. All the residents are gathering for an
annual lottery drawing. Some families talk excitedly and tease each other,
and the kids seem positively giddy, but as the lottery
gets underway, the mood grows increasingly tense and it becomes
(01:47):
clear that no one actually wants to win. The drawing
is conducted by mister Summers and mister Graves. One by one,
they draw and announce a name from each family in town,
and then reveal whether or not their paper bears a
black spot designating the winner. Tessie Hutchinson is one of
(02:09):
the more gleeful spectators. She doesn't seem to mind the
tradition one bit until her family's slip is shown to
bear the mark. Then she suddenly changes her tune and
argues that the drawing wasn't fair. But her protests are
cut short when, as the narrator bluntly puts it, a
stone hit her on the side of the head. It's
(02:32):
not revealed who threw it because it doesn't really matter.
The rock is quickly followed by another and another, until
all the villagers have joined in. This is Tessi's prize,
to be stoned to death by her friends, neighbors, and
by members of her own family. Even her young son
is given pebbles to throw. The Lottery is known for
(02:56):
its gruesome twist ending, but Jackson unfolds the story mystery
slowly and skillfully. She builds a sense of unease in
the reader by establishing contrasts. The beautiful scenic setting is
at odds with the impersonal narrative voice, and our expectations
for a fun, festive atmosphere are undone by the looming
(03:17):
sense of dread that we find in its place. These disparities,
along with a handful of cryptic comments from the crowd,
let the reader know that something is amiss, but they
don't give away the full secret that's reserved for the
dark turn the story takes in its final moments, a
violent conclusion that pays off the story's menacing undertone while
(03:39):
still managing to shock the reader. By the time Shirley
Jackson wrote The Lottery, she was already an established writer,
with a published novel and several acclaimed short stories under
her belt. She was living in North Bennington, Vermont, with
her husband and daughter, and one summer day she came
up with the whole idea while struggling to push her
(03:59):
dog stroller uphill. The writing came easily, and she finished
the story that afternoon in less than two hours. Jackson
made a correction or two and then sent off the
manuscript to her agent the following day. Then just three
weeks after that, on June twenty sixth, nineteen forty eight,
the Lottery was published in The New Yorker. Written just
(04:23):
a few years after World War II and at the
dawn of the Red Scare, Jackson's story can be read
as a cautionary tale about blind conformity and the capacity
for evil that lurks in everyone. It shows that atrocities
can be inflicted as a matter of routine, so long
as enough people are complicit in them to make it
(04:43):
feel like no one is truly responsible. Many New Yorker
readers didn't appreciate the harsh intrusion of that real world
lesson into the pages of their favorite literary magazine, and
they didn't hesitate to let the editors and the author
know it. Hundreds of readers canceled their subscriptions and wrote
angry letters, denouncing the story in turn as outrageous, gruesome, perverted,
(05:09):
and utterly pointless. Some readers interpreted the story's rural setting
as an attack on the values of small town America,
while others mistook it for a real world account and
wanted to know how they could attend next year's lottery.
The New Yorker forwarded all this mail to Jackson, sometimes
as many as a dozen letters a day, and she
(05:31):
eventually had to upgrade to a bigger post office box
just to fit it all. Despite the volume of letters, though,
they all tended to fall into one of three categories,
which Jackson described as bewilderment, speculation, and plain old fashioned abuse.
The strong reactions caught the author off guard, especially when
(05:52):
her own parents joined in the criticism. It had simply
never occurred to me. Jackson later reflected that these millions
and millions of people might be so far from being
uplifted that they would sit down and write me letters.
I was downright scared to open. Of the three hundred
odd letters that I received that summer, I can count
(06:13):
only thirteen that spoke kindly to me, and they were
mostly from friends. Even my mother scolded me, Dad, and
I did not care at all for your story. In
The New Yorker, she wrote sternly, it does seem dear
that this gloomy kind of story is what all you
young people think about these days. Why don't you write
something to cheer people up instead. Jackson's genuine surprise at
(06:38):
the response seems to suggest that the Lottery was a
comment on the dark side of human nature in general,
rather than a rebuke of any specific community. And while
readers are still free to draw their own conclusions about
the stories meaning, it's worth noting that she herself weighed
in with her own view. In a nineteen forty eight
article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the author said, quote
(07:01):
explaining just what I had hoped the story to say
is very difficult. I suppose I hoped, by setting a
particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my
own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic
dramatization of the pointless violence and general inhumanity in their
own lives. Jackson doesn't suggest as much herself, but I
(07:25):
think the backlash to the story is proof that she
achieved her mission. Many readers likely caught a distorted glimpse
of themselves reflected in the story, and because they didn't
like what they saw, they lashed out at the one
who showed it to them. At any rate, the controversy
would soon be drowned out by praise. In nineteen forty nine,
(07:46):
the Lottery was recognized with the prestigious O. Henry Prize
Stories Award, and in the years ahead it would be
reprinted in countless short story anthologies and added to school
curriculums across the country. The story was so successful that
for a time Jackson worried that it might overshadow the
rest of her work and she'd never be able to
(08:06):
top it. Luckily, that wasn't the case. She went on
to produce many more celebrated works throughout the nineteen fifties
and sixties, including two memoirs, dozens of short stories, and
five more novels, among them nineteen fifty nine's The Haunting
of Hill House, which is widely regarded as one of
the greatest ghost stories ever written. That said, none of
(08:30):
her other works quite caught the public's attention or its
ire in the same way as the Lottery. To this day.
It continues to force readers to examine what kind of
bad behavior they let slide or even take part in
for the sake of tradition or a sense of belonging.
What are the forces in our lives that might prompt
(08:51):
us to turn on our neighbors. It's a question worth
considering if you'd like to avoid casting a stone yourself.
I'm gay, Blues gay, and hopefully you now know a
little more about history today than you did yesterday. If
you'd like to keep up with the show, you can
follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show,
(09:17):
and if you have any comments or suggestions, feel free
to send them my way by writing to This Day
at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to kazb Bias for producing
the show, and thanks to you for listening. I'll see
you back here again tomorrow for another day in History class.
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