Primordial Violence in Jackson’s “The Lottery”, Essay Example

Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery” arguably remains one of the most famous American short stories to the extent that it graphically demonstrates the presence of an irrational and almost primordial violence that exists in Western civilization. From this point of view, what Jackson accomplishes in the story is to challenge the reader’s preconceptions: the “lottery”, where a random family is selected in a village every year and then stoned to death so to ensure a good harvest, seems incredibly out of place with our narratives about Western civilization and progress. For example, if one set this story in a remote tribal somewhere outside the Western world, this same narrative would not be shocking, to the extent that it fits Western stereotypes about the Other. Jackson’s “The Lottery” demonstrates how a primordial, irrational subsists in every civilization and thereby provides a critical gaze which inquires as to why this violence exists.

This primordial character of violence, which shows its omnipresence across human civilization is arguably symbolized in the box where the lottery tickets are contained. Jackson describes it as follows: “The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.” (823) The dilapidated appearance of the box suggests its age: the ritual of the stoning and the lottery has been performed for years. Nevertheless, even though it is ancient, it still subsists in this society, a violent and cruel rite which endures.

That this primordial violence exists, but somehow is not explicit, is also demonstrated in the box’s location. As Jackson writes, “The rest of the year, the box was put way, sometimes one place, sometimes another.” (824) The violence of the lottery is something forgotten, something not reflected upon with a rational mind. It exists almost unconsciously in the time when the lottery is not present. This is the primordial character of this violence, as though it explodes intermittently in the form of the ritual of the stoning, existing in other times under the surface. The unconscious periodically becomes conscious, as the violence that structures the social lives of the villagers occasionally bursts forth.

The unconscious violence of the lottery is not justified by reason, but rather is something that is universal and timeless at the basis of this social organization. Jackson explains “’Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery.” (825) The villagers cannot imagine their lives without the lottery: this demonstrates the extent to which the violence of the ritual shapes their very society. Yet this violence is merely accepted, it is not rationally reflected upon: Jackson shows how this violence exists despite cultural boundaries and differences, and exists where we perhaps may least expect it.

Jackson’s story effectively demonstrates the pervasiveness of violence in our society and how it exists in an almost unconscious manner. We do not think about these events and when we become conscious of them we may be shocked by their presence. The power of Jackson’s narrative lies in the one hand on showing how this violence is universal, and, on the other hand, that it is also something unexplained, but nevertheless merely accepted.

Works Cited

Jackson, Shirley. The Lottery. In L. Kirszner & S. Mandell (eds). Compact Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 8th Edition New York: Cengage,  2013.