Once upon a time there was a small village. In this village, three hundred people farmed, played and happily went about their business. Children went to school while men cut wood or cultivated the land, and women cooked and cleaned. Every summer, in June, each of the villagers participated in the traditional drawing of lots and one villager was chosen for the prize: a stoning. In 1948, Shirley Jackson published this short story called "The Lottery" in the New York Times. The plot of the story shocked readers across America when they learned of the horror unfolding in such a picturesque town. Jackson deliberately placed this tragic event in this innocent setting to highlight the cruelty of humanity. Using her gruesome short story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson alarms readers with the ironic and suspenseful elements of a seemingly pleasant setting and vague characters to prove the inhumanity of society. Jackson provides a precise date making the story credible but still ambiguous. , in order to show that this tragic tradition is plausible. Published in a time as modern as 1948, the story shocks readers because this cruel act seems too far removed from man's "civilized behavior" (Friedman, Lenemaja 63). But this assumption shows man's ignorance of his own capacity to carry out this horrible practice; the ambiguity of the time period of the story reveals that this could happen at any time and anywhere. This June date provides readers with a point of reference to a time in their own lives, and critic Jennifer Hicks suggests that "everyone can imagine themselves in a similar environment" (147). This realism is crucial to the depiction of this horror story because it creates disbelief and shock once the ending is revealed (Brooks, Cleanth 30)....... middle of paper ...... But the real question becomes, who will be next? Works CitedBrooks, Cleanth and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding fiction. New York: Appleton. 1959. Print. Friedman, Lenemaja. Shirley Jackson. Boston: Twayne. 1975. Print. Gioia, Dana and RS Gwynn. The art of the short story. New York: Pearson. 2006. Print. Griffin, Amy A. Jackson's “The Lottery.” » The Explainer 58 (1999): 44-45. Rep. in Amy A. Griffin on tradition and violence. Bloom's main short story writers. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broom: Chelsea, 2001. 43-44. Print. Hicks, Jennifer. Short stories for students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Flight. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 146-48. Print.Yarmove, Jay A. Jackson's "The Lottery." » The Explainer 52 (1994): 234-44. Rep. in Jay A. Yormove on symbolism in the story. Bloom's main short story writers. Ed. Harold Bloom. Broom: Chelsea, 2001. 41-42. Print.