The Plot of the Lottery

Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into the place in the back of the crowd. “Clean forgot what day it was, “she said to Mrs. Delacroix who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. “Thought my old man was out back stacking wood,” Mrs. Hutchinson went on, “and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a- running.” She dried her hands on her apron and Mrs. Delacroix said, “You’re in time, though. They’re still talking away up there. ”Jackson, 1988:150. They are really happy to join the lottery although Mrs. Hutchinson comes late to the square because she forgets the day of the lottery. Mrs. Hutchinson still can joke around with Mrs. Delacroix and talk about many things. As the lottery begins, the conflict in the story rises. There are some people who say that the other village already quit the lottery. It makes the oldest man in the village angry when he hears that. It is Old Man Warner who gets angry on that. Old Man Warner snorted. “Pack of crazy fools,” he said. “Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed an acorns. There’s always been lottery,” he added petulantly. “Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody” Jackson, 1988:152 It is clear that the conflict between the characters in the story starts to come up. There is a conflict between those who disagree with the lottery and the one who agree with the lottery. Based on the Old Man Warner ’s statement, the writer sees nothing wrong in the lottery. But, the fact about the lottery as a ritual also reveals something different because some of the people there talk about giving up the lottery. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Another conflict from the story also happens when Mr. Hutchinson is the one who wins the lot but his wife, Mrs. Hutchinson disagrees with the decision People began to look around to see the Hutchinsons. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers, “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair”Jackson, 1988:152. It is really weird to see Mrs. Hutchinson protests the decision of the lottery. She knows that her husband is the winner and she does not like it. The writer of the thesis sees that there is something wrong with the lottery. It means that the winner in the lottery will not get something good. There is also something weird when Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves think that the lottery is fair for everyone. “Be a good sport, Tessie,” Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said, “All of us took the same chance” Jackson, 1988:152-153. That statement means that they do not like to win the lottery. They also refuse to give another chance to Hutchinson family. As the story goes, the writer finds that there is something strange to see why Mrs. Hutchinson really wants to restart the lottery by involving her children to make everything fair for her family. There’s Don and Eva,” Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. “Make them take their chance” “Daughters draw with their husbands’ families, Tessie,” Mr. Summers said genly. “You know that as well as anyone else.” “It wasn’t fair ,” Tessie said. “I guess not, Joe,” Bill Hutchinson said regretfully. “There’s Bill, Jr., and Nancy, and little Dave. And Tessie and me.” “All right, then,” Mr. Summers said. “Harry, you got their tickets back?” Mr. Graves nodded and held up the slips of paper. “Put them in the box, then,” Mr. Summers directed. “Take Bill’s and put it in.” “I think we ought to start over,” Mrs. Hutchinson said, as quietly as she could. “I tell you it wasn’t fair . You didn’t give him time enough to choose. Every body saw that ” Jackson, 1988:153. Those conversations lead the writer to another confusion of the lottery as the ritual in that village. Mrs. Hutchinson is supposed to be happy when she knows that her husband is the winner. But in the story, she refuses the decision and wants to start all over again. After the lottery starts over again for Hutchinson family, the climax from the story rises. It happens when Mrs. Hutchinson becomes a winner of the lottery. But the writer does not see what the price is from the lottery. It feels strange also to see the happiness of Nancy and Bill as you can see in this quotation. “Nancy and Bill, Jr., opened theirs at the same time, and both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and h olding their slips of paper above their heads” Jackson, 1988:154. This also approves that everyone on that village do not want to be a winner in the lottery. Mrs. Hutchinson also keeps saying that it is not fair. She protests the second result of the drawing. This suspension makes the writer wants to know what is going to happen next. At the first time, the writer sees that Mrs. Hutchinson is really excited about the lottery. She tries to give her husband support when she knows that her husband will get t he draw. “Get up there, Bill,” Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near laughed” Jackson, 1988:152. But after she wins the lottery, she does not like it. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI The people in that village do not care anymore to what Mrs. Hutchinson says as mentioned in quotation below All right, folks,” Mr. Summers said. “Let’s finish quickly.” Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out the box. Mrs. Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. “Come on,” she said. “Hurry up Jackson, 1988:154. They begin to pick up the stones for the ritual. As mentioned in the quotation, the writer also knows the prize of the lottery. It makes a clear explanation why the children stuff up full of stones in their pocket. The conclusion of the story tells us upon the death of Mrs. Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson also keeps saying “it isn’t fair, it isn’t right” Jackson, 1988:154. But no one listens to her and stoned her to fulfill the ritual.

B. The Attitudes of the Characters toward the Lottery reflected from the

Plot The second part of this chapter will analyze the attitudes of the Characters toward the lottery as reflected in the plot of the story. The writer will use theory from Abrams, V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs. The theory on characters from those experts will help the writer finds the attitudes from the characters. The lottery is the story about a tradition which is being held by the people in that village. People are gathering around with their family in the square to participate the lottery without any anxiety in their minds. This is shown through their faithful which still believe in such tradition will bring a big harvest to that village. The lottery happens in the beautiful summer day of June 27 th . It is also stated in the story that the lottery has been done for so many years in that village. In that beautiful day, there is a tragic thing that leads to the human attitudes in that village. There is a black box in the square with slips of paper in there which has been prepared before. Each member of the family must take this paper randomly. After all the people in there get one slip of paper in their hands, they are allowed to open it. The paper that has a sign in there will be the chosen one. Then people begin to throw the stone at the person that get the sign on his or her paper until die. They don’t care about killing their neighbor as the fulfillment of the tradition itself. They only believe that after doing that thing, the big harvest will come into their village. They never think clearly of what might happen after killing their own neighbor. They only care about the big harvest whether they should sacrifice the people in there including their own family. But there are some people in the story who also think that the lottery is useless. The other village already quit doing the lottery. These sorts of attitudes lead the following analysis into several sections; the attitudes in the initial situation, the attitudes in the conflict, and the attitudes in the climax, and attitudes in the conclusion.

1. The Attitudes of the Characters in the Exposition

In the morning of the lottery day which is held in summer, the children begin to gather around. They also seem really happy and excited. They gather around to collect some smoothest and rounded stones. The girls stand aside PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI and talk among themselves. There are small talk about classroom and the teacher among them. The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix- the villagers pronounced this name “Dellacroy”-eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at the boys, and the very small children rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of older brothers or sisters. Jackson, 1988:149 The quotation above shows the attitude of the children toward the lottery. They show curiosity. They feel curious because it is the lottery day in which one person should be chosen as the winner to end this very important day. They know that one of them would be chosen as a winner in the lottery but they don’t seem to care about it and just follow what they have to do. Bobby Martin is one example of the boy who doesn’t care about what would happen to him at the lottery. He stuffs himself with stones in his pocket. This shows that the children are being faithful in the story as their attitude. Not only the children but also the men feel the same way. They feel curious about who will be chosen in the lottery. They come to the square because of the lottery day. They seem to be really friendly among themselves by talking to each other and joking around. Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. Jackson, 1988:149