The Lottery – A Book Review
When you hear the word lottery, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Most people probably think of a large cash prize, but the truth is that lotteries can take many forms. They can be used for everything from granting housing units in a subsidized apartment complex to kindergarten placements at a high-quality public school. Some of these lotteries are government-sponsored and offer prizes that benefit specific public goods, while others, like the ones featured on billboards along interstate highways, are more like a game of chance where people pay to buy tickets and win money or other items of value.
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson is a short story that examines the power of tradition in society. The opening scene of the story depicts an ordinary town square filled with everyday people gathered for a lottery. Among them is a group of young boys playing with stones, and as the reader watches this scene, he or she may have a strong sense that something terrible is about to happen.
After the boys leave, one of the adults, Mr. Summers, carries out a black box and stirs up the papers inside of it. There is no obvious indication that this is a lottery, and the readers do not get a true sense of what’s happening until all of the participants begin taking turns drawing from the box. As each boy draws, the readers realize that they are not likely to win, but there is still a small glimmer of hope that somebody will walk away with the prize.
People have been using lotteries for hundreds of years, and the practice has evolved from being an amusing dinner entertainment to a powerful political tool. A number of biblical stories describe the distribution of land and property by lot, and the Roman emperors used lotteries as a way to distribute gifts to their guests during Saturnalian feasts. The lottery has become a popular source of revenue for state governments, and in some cases it has proved to be a more reliable revenue generator than general taxes.
While state-sponsored lotteries are a good way to generate revenue for certain public goods, such as education, they have also come with their own set of problems. In a time when state governments are under fiscal pressure, it is easy for legislators to use the popularity of the lottery to justify raising taxes or cutting services. Studies have shown, however, that the popularity of the lottery is not correlated to the overall health of a state’s finances and that there are other factors that influence whether it will win public approval.
While there are a number of reasons why people choose to participate in the lottery, the most important factor is that it provides an opportunity to try and change their fate. This opportunity is only available to those who are willing to take a risk and believe that their ticket might be the one that will turn their life around.